Ballotpedia designated certain 2020 elections as battlegrounds—races expected to have a meaningful effect on the balance of power in governments or to be particularly competitive or compelling. Here is a summary of some key 2020 municipal battleground elections:
Daniella Levine Cava defeated Esteban Bovo Jr. in the nonpartisan general election for Mayor of Miami-Dade County on November 3, 2020. Incumbent Mayor Carlos Gimenez reached his consecutive term limit and could not run for re-election. Though the race was nonpartisan, the candidates received partisan support. Four local Republican organizations endorsed Bovo, who held office in the Florida House of Representatives as a Republican from 2008 to 2012.[1] Seven local and state Democratic organizations, including the Florida Democratic Party, endorsed Levine Cava.[2] The office was last held by a Democratic-aligned candidate in 2004, which was also the last time a Democratic-aligned candidate and a Republican-aligned candidate faced off in a general election.
Incumbent Ted Wheeler defeated Sarah Iannarone and Teressa Raiford (write-in) in the general election for mayor of Portland, Oregon on November 3, 2020. Wheeler said he led on police reform and the city's COVID-19 response. His campaign website said, "We are in the midst of a pandemic, the ensuing economic crisis, racial justice reckoning, and facing the constantly growing effects of climate change. We have an incredible amount of work ahead, and need continued leadership now more than ever."[3] Iannarone's campaign website said, "The current Mayor’s record is full of broken promises on solutions for houselessness and inequality. He’s shown no leadership on civil unrest or public safety. ... I’m offering a progressive alternative."[4]
Kevin Lincoln defeated incumbent Michael Tubbs in the general election for mayor of Stockton, California, on November 3, 2020. Tubbs conceded the race on November 17.[5] The general election was held after no candidate received a majority of the vote in the March 3 primary.[6] Mayoral elections in Stockton are nonpartisan, meaning that candidates’ party affiliations do not appear on the ballot. However, Lincoln was a member of the Republican Party at the time of the election and Tubbs was a member of the Democratic Party.[7] Tubbs' campaign website said he was "running to continue revitalizing our neighborhoods, attract more good paying jobs, increase safety through community policing, and bring innovation into our civic life and local economy."[8] According to the Los Angeles Times, Tubbs was "the city’s first Black mayor and a favorite in progressive circles for championing ideas such as universal basic income."[9] Lincoln's campaign website included proposals for a homeless policy initiative, public safety policy initiative, and civic engagement plan.[10] Lincoln received support from local police and firefighters unions.[9][11] His professional experience included serving in the Marines, working in private security, and pastoring a church.[7]
Oscar Leeser defeated incumbent Donald "Dee" Margo in the runoff election for mayor of El Paso, Texas, on December 12, 2020. Leeser received 79.5% of the vote to Margo's 20.5%. The runoff election was held after no candidate received a majority of the vote in the November 3 general election. Mayoral elections in El Paso are nonpartisan, meaning that candidates’ party affiliations do not appear on the ballot. However, media outlets identified Leeser as a member of the Democratic Party, and Margo previously served as a Republican in the Texas House of Representatives.[12][13] Leeser served as mayor of El Paso from 2013 to 2017. He did not seek re-election in 2017, and Margo won a runoff election for the office. According to The Texas Tribune, the 2020 runoff election was "dominated by Margo’s management of the [COVID-19] crisis."[14] According to the Tribune, "Margo ran on his experience guiding the city through three major crises — not just the pandemic, but also the 2019 massacre at a Walmart and the Central American migrant influx prior to that," while Leeser "pitched himself as a better crisis manager who would do more to bring the city together to get the virus under control."[15][14]
District Attorney election in Los Angeles County, California[edit]
George Gascón defeated incumbent Jackie Lacey in the nonpartisan election for Los Angeles County District Attorney on November 3, 2020. Lacey was first elected in 2012.[16] Gascón was first elected as San Francisco district attorney in 2011.[17] In 2015, he ran unopposed.[18] This race drew media attention following events and activity in response to law enforcement's use of force and the death of George Floyd.
José Garza (D) defeated incumbent Margaret Moore (D) in the July 14, 2020, Democratic primary runoff for Travis County District Attorney. Moore, who was first elected in 2016, said she was running to continue initiatives she launched during her first term, including reducing the number of prison sentences sought for drug offenses, reducing the use of cash bail, and expanding the resources dedicated to prosecuting sexual assault cases.[19] Garza, who, at the time of the 2020 election headed the Workers Defense Project, said he wanted to fix what he believed was a broken criminal justice system. He said he was running against Moore because of how her office had handled sexual assault cases.[20]
City treasurer election in Milwaukee, Wisconsin[edit]
Incumbent City Treasurer Spencer Coggs defeated Brandon Methu in the general election for city treasurer of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on April 7, 2020. Coggs had held elected office since 1982, while this was Methu's first run for office. Coggs was first elected city treasurer in 2012.[21] He was a Democratic member of the Wisconsin State Senate representing District 6 from 2003 to 2013, and he also served in the Wisconsin State Assembly from 1982 to 2002.[22] Methu founded OpportunityCrowd, a real estate investment platform. As of his 2020 campaign, he was a real estate investor for a commercial real estate firm in Milwaukee and served as a member of Milwaukee's Board of Review.
State's attorney Democratic primary in Cook County, Illinois[edit]
Incumbent Kim Foxx won the Cook County, Illinois, state's attorney Democratic primary on March 17, 2020. Three other candidates ran: Bill Conway, Bob Fioretti, and Donna More. The election took place a year following national attention around the case of former Empire actor Jussie Smollett, who filed a police report January 2019 alleging that two men attacked him while making comments about race and sexual orientation. Smollett was later charged with multiple counts related to filing a false police report. Foxx dropped the charges against Smollett in March 2019 in favor of an alternative prosecution program. Foxx's 2020 Democratic primary challengers criticized her handling of the case.
Once mayors elected in 2020 assumed office, the mayors of 65 of the country's 100 largest cities were affiliated with the Democratic Party.
Mayoral elections were held in 29 of the 100 largest U.S. cities in 2020. Seven party changes took place as a result of these 29 elections. Five offices held by Republican incumbents and two offices held by Democratic incumbents changed partisan control.
Maricopa County, Arizona - Board of supervisors, assessor, county attorney, recorder, sheriff, school superintendent, treasurer, constables, justices of the peace, community college board, East Valley Institute of Technology districts, and superior court judges
Pima County, Arizona - Board of supervisors, attorney, sheriff, recorder, treasurer, assessor, school superintendent, justices of the peace, constables, community college district trustees, Central Arizona Water Conservation District members, and judges
Alameda County, California - Supervisors, superior court seats, county board of education, AC Transit District board, Alameda County Flood Control Board/Zone 7 Water Agency, Union Sanitary District board, Alameda County Water District board, Bay Area Regional Transit (BART) board, East Bay Regional Park District board, East Bay Municipal Utility District board, and Washington Township Healthcare District board
Fresno County, California - Board of supervisors, judgeships, county board of education, irrigation district board, community college district board, park district board, memorial district board, water district board, and public utility district board
Kern County, California - Board of supervisors, county supervisors, superior court judgeships, county board of education, East Niles Community Services District board, Kern Community College District board, and Kern County Water Agency board
Los Angeles County, California - County supervisors, district attorney, superior court judges, community college districts, and water districts
Orange County, California - Board of supervisors, board of education trustees, superior court judge, community college districts, water districts, and hazard abatement district
Riverside County, California - County supervisors, county board of education, superior court judgeships, Riverside Community College District, Western Municipal Water District, and Edgemont Community Services District
Sacramento County, California - Board of supervisors, county board of education, superior court judgeships, community college district, municipal utility district, water districts, fire district, and flood control district
San Bernardino County, California - Board of supervisors, superior court judgeships, county board of education, water districts, and college districts
San Diego County, California - Board of supervisors, county board of education, college districts, irrigation district, water district, healthcare districts, and superior court judges
San Joaquin County, California - County supervisors, county board of education, superior court offices, superior court judgeships, community college district, irrigation district, fire protection district, and water district
Santa Clara County, California - County board of supervisors, superior court judges, county board of education, community college districts, special districts, and water district
Jacksonville, Florida - Circuit court judgeships, county court judgeships, soil and water conservation district, city council (special election), clerk of courts, state attorney, public defender
Hillsborough County, Florida - County commissioners, sheriff, county court judgeships, tax collector, property appraiser, supervisor of elections, soil and water conservation districts, clerk of court, state attorney, public defender
Miami-Dade County, Florida - County commissioners, county mayor, property appraiser, clerk of court, county judgeships, special districts, soil and water conservation district, state attorney, public defender
Orange County, Florida - Clerk, comptroller, property appraiser, public defender, sheriff, state attorney, supervisor of elections, tax collector, Orange County Court judges, soil and water conservation districts
Pinellas County, Florida - County commissioners, clerk of circuit court, comptroller, sheriff, property appraiser, tax collector, supervisor of elections, county judgeships, fire control district, state attorney, public defender
DeKalb County, Georgia - Board of commissioners, chief executive officer, district attorney, clerk of superior court, solicitor-general, sheriff, tax commissioner, chief magistrate, probate court judge, superior court judgeships, state court judgeships, associate state court judgeships, board of education districts, soil and water conservation district supervisors
Fulton County, Georgia - County commission districts, county school board districts, clerk of superior court, solicitor general, district attorney, sheriff, tax commissioner, office of surveyor, soil and water district supervisor, and state and probate court judgeships
Cook County, Illinois - County clerk of circuit court, county state's attorney, board of review commissioner, metropolitan water reclamation district, county circuit court, county judicial circuit
Louisville, Kentucky - Metro councilors, county commissioners, soil and water conservation supervisors, county surveyor (unexpired term), and family court judge of the 30th circuit court, seat 3 (unexpired term)
Wayne County, Michigan - County commissioners, prosecutor, treasurer, community college trustees, probate court judges, district court judges, and circuit court judges (1 special and 17 regular elections)
St. Louis, Missouri - Circuit attorney, sheriff, treasurer, board of aldermen (special election), community college board, and circuit court and associate circuit court judges
Clay County, Missouri - County commissioners, assessor, public administrator, sheriff, treasurer, and circuit court and associate circuit court judges
Jackson County, Missouri - County prosecutor, sheriff, and circuit court and associate circuit court judges
Platte County, Missouri - County commissioners, assessor, public administrator, sheriff, treasurer, and associate circuit court judges
Douglas County, Nebraska - Metropolitan College board of governors, county clerk, county commissioners, public defender, Learning Community Coordinating Council seats, Metropolitan Utilities District of Omaha seats, and Papio-Missouri River Natural Resources District seats
Bernalillo County, New Mexico - County commissioners, county clerk, treasurer, district attorney, 2nd Judicial Court judgeships, and metropolitan court judgeships
Durham County, North Carolina - County commissioners, register of deeds, soil and water conservation district supervisor, judicial offices
Forsyth County, North Carolina - County commissioners, clerk of superior court (special election), judicial offices, register of deeds, soil and water conservation district supervisor
Guilford County, North Carolina - County commissioners, register of deeds, judicial offices, soil and water conservation district supervisor
Cuyahoga County, Ohio - County council, prosecuting commissioners, court of appeals judgeships, court of common pleas judges
Fairfield County, Ohio - County commissioners, county treasurer, county recorder, county coroner, county sheriff, county engineer, prosecuting attorney, clerk of courts, and two court of common pleas judges
Franklin County, Ohio - County commissioners, county prosecutor, clerk of courts, sheriff, recorder, treasurer, engineer, coroner, court of common pleas judgeships, probate court judge
Hamilton County, Ohio - County commissioners, prosecuting attorney, clerk of courts, sheriff, recorder, treasurer, engineer, coroner, court of common pleas judges
Lucas County, Ohio - County commissioners, coroner, sheriff, recorder, engineer, treasurer, prosecuting attorney, clerk of court of common pleas, court of common pleas judges
Bexar County, Texas - County commissioners, sheriff, tax assessor-collector, justice of the peace, constables, multiple judgeships
Collin County, Texas - County commissioners, sheriff, tax assessor-collector, constables, and district court judgeships
Dallas County, Texas - County commissioners, sheriff, tax assessor-collector, district court judgeships
Denton County, Texas - County commissioners, tax collector-assessor, sheriff, constables, multiple judgeships
El Paso County, Texas - County commissioners, tax assessor-collector, sheriff, county attorney, district attorney, constables, multiple judgeships
Fort Bend County, Texas - Sheriff, county commissioners, county attorney, tax assessor-collector, justices of the peace, constables, multiple judgeships
Harris County, Texas - County commissioners, sheriff, county court at law, county attorney, county clerk, county department of education, district attorney, tax assessor-collector, justice of the peace, constable, special districts, multiple judgeships
Lubbock County, Texas - County commissioners, sheriff, tax assessor-collector, constables, special districts, multiple judgeships
Nueces County, Texas - County commissioners, sheriff, county attorney, county district attorney, tax assessor-collector, justices of the peace, constables, special districts, multiple judgeships
Tarrant County, Texas - County commissioners, sheriff, tax assessor-collector, constables, multiple judgeships
Travis County, Texas - County commissioners, sheriff, county court at law, county commissioners court (special), county attorney, district attorney, tax assessor-collector, constables, multiple judgeships
Webb County, Texas - County commissioners, sheriff, district attorney, county attorney, tax assessor-collector, constables, special districts, multiple judgeships
Williamson County, Texas - County commissioners, sheriff, county attorney, county district attorney, tax assessor-collector, constables, multiple judgeships
Dane County, Wisconsin - Board of supervisors, county clerk, treasurer, register of deeds, district attorney, circuit court judge
Milwaukee County, Wisconsin - County executive, county comptroller, county board supervisors, circuit court judgeships, county clerk, county treasurer, register of deeds, and district attorney
Multiple municipalities in Texas were originally scheduled to hold elections on May 2, 2020. These elections were moved to November 3, 2020, amid concerns about the coronavirus pandemic. In a proclamation made on March 18, 2020, Gov. Greg Abbott (R) suspended Sections 41.0052(a) and (b) of the Texas election code. This allowed local governments to move elections scheduled on May 2, 2020, to the next uniform state election date, which fell on November 3, 2020. This suspension only applied to elections occurring in 2020.[23]
Editor's note: Elections in Chesapeake, Virginia and Norfolk, Virginia were originally scheduled on May 5, 2020. On April 24, 2020, Gov. Ralph Northam (D) announced the postponement of elections scheduled on May 5, 2020, to May 19 amid concerns about the coronavirus pandemic. This announcement came after the Virginia State Senate rejected a proposal to delay local elections until November 2020.[24]
The 100 largest cities in the U.S. held an average of 29.0 mayoral elections and 51.2 city council elections each year between 2014 and 2019. Ballotpedia covers local elections in America’s 100 largest cities by population and in the counties that overlap those cities. This section includes statistics for mayoral elections, city council elections, and county elections between 2014 and 2019, comparing uncontested races, incumbents who sought re-election, and incumbents who were defeated in their re-election bids.
The following table details the total number of elections at the city and county level covered by Ballotpedia between 2014 and 2019, including the number of cities to hold mayoral and city council elections in a given year:
Total municipal elections covered by Ballotpedia from 2014 to 2019
Between 2014 and 2019, 67.2% of incumbent mayors sought re-election; of these, 17.1% were defeated in their bids for re-election. The first chart below shows the number of incumbents who sought election each year compared to the number of seats up for election. The second chart shows the number of incumbents who were defeated compared to the number of incumbents who ran for re-election.
The table below is organized by year and includes the total number of mayoral races and the number and percentage of uncontested races, incumbents who sought re-election, and incumbents who were defeated in their re-election bids.
Mayoral election incumbency statistics from 2014 to 2019
Between 2014 and 2019, 69.2% of city council incumbents sought re-election; of these, 12.7% were defeated in their bids for re-election. The first chart below shows the number of incumbents who sought election each year compared to the number of seats up for election. The second chart shows the number of incumbents who were defeated compared to the number of incumbents who ran for re-election.
The table below is organized by year and includes the total number of city council races and the number and percentage of uncontested races, incumbents who sought re-election, and incumbents who were defeated in their re-election bids.
City council election incumbency statistics from 2014 to 2019
Ballotpedia covered 183 county and special district races across 29 large counties in 2019. Of these, 85 (46.4%) races were uncontested and 140 (76.5%) incumbents sought re-election. Of the incumbents who ran for re-election, 11 (7.9%) were defeated.
By comparison, 78 large counties held elections for county and special district officials in 2018. A total of 2,168 positions were up for election, and incumbents ran in 1,807 (83.3%) of those races. One-hundred and seventy-six (176) incumbents (9.7%) lost their re-election bids, and 1,115 elections (51.4%) featured only one candidate.
An average of 2.0 mayoral races and 51.8 city council races went uncontested between 2014 and 2019. In terms of mayoral elections, 2016 saw the highest number of uncontested races (four) and 2017 saw the fewest (zero). For city council seats, 2015 had the highest number of uncontested races (97) and 2018 had the fewest (29). The chart below shows the percentage of uncontested mayoral and city council races between 2014 and 2019.
Updated February 8, 2021
An election rematch occurs when the same candidates run against each other in consecutive election cycles.
Three local races in Ballotpedia's coverage scope were rematches in the 2020 general election.[25] In 2018, a Democrat, a Republican, and a nonpartisan candidate each won one race. Two races were decided by less than 10 percentage points. In 2020, the challenger won the nonpartisan district on the Lexington City Council. Republicans and Democrats held each of the other two seats. One race was decided by less than one percentage point.
In 2020, Ballotpedia covered elections for mayor, city council, and all other city officials in the 100 largest cities by population in the United States, as well as elections for county officials whose jurisdictions overlapped with those cities.