Local election in California, US
2025 Oakland mayoral special election Turnout 37.84% Unofficial results[ 1] First round precinct resultsLee: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70%Taylor: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80%Simpson: 90–100%Tie: 40–50% 50% No votes
The2025 Oakland mayoral special election was held on April 15, 2025, to elect the next mayor ofOakland, California , following therecall of mayorSheng Thao in November 2024.
City Council presidentNikki Fortunato Bas served as interim mayor until January 6, 2025, when she resigned to take a seat on theAlameda County Board of Supervisors . Fellow city councilorKevin Jenkins then took over as interim mayor. The filing period for mayoral candidates lasted from December 23, 2024, to January 17, 2025. The winner of this election will complete Thao's current term and will be up for re-election in 2026.[ 2] The election usedranked-choice voting .
Multiple media and news organizations called the race forBarbara Lee on April 18, three days after the election. While Lee carried the majority of the city’s neighborhoods,Loren Taylor outperformed in theOakland Hills , which theSan Francisco Chronicle described as "Oakland’s whitest, wealthiest and most economically conservative” neighborhoods, and which also had the highest turnout rate in the election.[ 3] [ 4]
Tyron Jordan, former member of the Oakland Library Advisory Commission and candidate for mayor in2022 (endorsed Lee, remained on ballot) [ 5] Barbara Lee
Federal officials Statewide officials State legislators Municipal officials Individuals Labor unions Organizations Newspapers and publications Political parties Mindy Pechenuk
State legislators Political parties Loren Taylor
State legislators Municipal officials Individuals Newspapers and publications After nine rounds of ranked-choice tabulation,Barbara Lee ledLoren Taylor by over 5,000 votes. Taylor conceded the race on Saturday, April 19.[ 32]
2025 Oakland mayoral special election, unofficial results, May 2, 2025[ 33] Candidate Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4 Round 5 Round 6 Round 7 Round 8 Round 9 Votes % Transfer Votes % Transfer Votes % Transfer Votes % Transfer Votes % Transfer Votes % Transfer Votes % Transfer Votes % Transfer Votes % Barbara Lee 47,177 50.03% +17 47,194 50.07% +66 47,260 50.16% +59 47,319 50.25% +245 47,564 50.56% +276 47,840 50.92% +83 47,923 51.17% +424 48,347 51.75% +588 48,935 52.70% Loren Taylor 42,393 44.95% +43 42,436 45.02% +32 42,468 45.07% +66 42,534 45.17% +94 42,628 45.32% +264 42,892 45.65% +366 43,258 46.19% +292 43,550 46.61% +379 43,929 47.30% Tyron Jordan(withdrawn) 1,001 1.06% +18 1,019 1.08% +23 1,042 1.11% +22 1,064 1.13% +53 1,117 1.19% +46 1,163 1.24% +124 1,287 1.37% +245 1,532 1.64% -1,532 Eliminated Renia Webb 796 0.84% +10 806 0.86% +23 829 0.88% +47 876 0.93% +53 929 0.99% +106 1,035 1.10% +145 1,180 1.26% -1,180 Eliminated Mindy Pechenuk 834 0.88% +8 842 0.89% +24 866 0.92% +32 898 0.95% +72 970 1.03% +52 1,022 1.09% -1,022 Eliminated Suz Robinson 755 0.80% +14 769 0.82% +15 784 0.83% +35 819 0.87% +39 858 0.91% -858 Eliminated Eric Simpson 588 0.62% +5 593 0.63% +14 607 0.64% +51 658 0.70% -658 Eliminated Elizabeth Swaney 324 0.34% +9 333 0.35% +32 365 0.39% -365 Eliminated Peter Liu 253 0.27% +13 266 0.28% -266 Eliminated Cristina Grappo 184 0.20% -184 Eliminated Total active ballots 94,305 94,258 94,221 94,168 94,066 93,952 93,648 93,429 92,864 Exhausted ballots +45 45 +33 78 +48 126 +99 225 +110 335 +299 634 +214 848 +530 1,378
^ "City of Oakland Special Municipal Election - April 15, 2025 Unofficial Final Results" .Official Election Site of Alameda County . RetrievedApril 16, 2025 .^ "Timeline for Selecting New Mayor" . City of Oakland. December 4, 2024. RetrievedDecember 9, 2024 .^ Shukla, Aseem; Ravani, Sarah; Devulapalli, Harsha (April 11, 2025)."Oakland neighborhoods are grouped into five voting 'clusters.' Which one are you in?" .San Francisco Chronicle . RetrievedMay 20, 2025 . ^ Fermoso, Jose; Romero, Roselyn (April 18, 2025)."Turnout was low for Oakland's mayoral election. What could change that?" .The Oaklandside . RetrievedMay 20, 2025 . ^a b c d e f Russell, Kiley (April 8, 2025)."Special election preview: The 10 candidates running to become next mayor of Oakland" .Piedmont Exedra . RetrievedApril 13, 2025 . ^ "Barbara Lee announces she's running for Oakland mayor" .KTVU . January 8, 2025. RetrievedJanuary 8, 2025 .^a b Orenstein, Natalie; Wolfe, Eli; BondGraham, Darwin (November 13, 2024)."Who is running for Oakland mayor after Sheng Thao's recall?" .The Oaklandside . RetrievedNovember 14, 2024 . ^a b Yu, Betty (January 17, 2025)."Former city councilmember Loren Taylor, former city staffer Renia Webb join Oakland mayoral race" .KTVU . RetrievedJanuary 18, 2025 . ^ Brinkley, Leslie; Howard, Lena (January 6, 2025)."Kevin Jenkins selected to serve as next interim mayor of Oakland; third mayor in 3 months" .KABC-TV . RetrievedJanuary 16, 2025 .Jenkins said he will not run for Oakland mayor. ^a b c d e Gans, Jared (January 8, 2025)."Lee announces candidacy for Oakland mayor" .The Hill . RetrievedJanuary 8, 2025 . ^ Wolfe, Eli; Orenstein, Natalie (January 8, 2025)."Oakland politicos react to Barbara Lee running for mayor" .The Oaklandside . RetrievedJanuary 8, 2025 . ^a b Fermoso, Jose; Orenstein, Natalie; Razilla, Azucena; Wolfe, Eli (April 15, 2025)."Taylor, Lee supporters hold out hope as grueling ballot count begins" .The Oaklandside . RetrievedApril 17, 2025 . ^a b c Jones, Blake; Norman, Nicole; Gardiner, Dustin (January 16, 2025)."California Trump allies prep for deportation fight" .Politico . RetrievedJanuary 17, 2025 .Lee's campaign announced Wednesday that she has the exclusive support of former Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf, as well as Assemblymembers Mia Bonta and Buffy Wicks ^ Karlamangla, Soumya (April 13, 2025)."A Congressional Outsider Becomes the Establishment Pick for Oakland Mayor" .The New York Times . RetrievedApril 17, 2025 . ^a b c d e f g h i j k l m McBride, Ashley (April 11, 2025)."Who's endorsed Oakland mayoral candidates Barbara Lee and Loren Taylor?" .The Oaklandside . RetrievedApril 17, 2025 . ^a b c d e f g Hall, Alex (April 10, 2025)."Oakland Special Election: Who's Running, What's on the Ballot and How to Vote by Tuesday" .KQED . RetrievedApril 19, 2025 . ^ "IFPTE Local 21 Endorsements: 2025 Special Elections" .IFPTE Local 21 . RetrievedApril 17, 2025 .^ "NUHW Members Go All in for Barbara Lee" .National Union of Healthcare Workers . March 24, 2025. RetrievedApril 19, 2025 .^ "SEIU 102 Endorses Congresswoman Barbara Lee for Oakland Mayor" . January 17, 2025. RetrievedApril 17, 2025 .^ "EMILYs List Endorses Former U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee for Mayor of Oakland" .EMILY's List . March 20, 2025. RetrievedApril 17, 2025 .^ "Endorsements: Oakland Mayoral Election" .Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club . RetrievedApril 17, 2025 .^ "Our Revolution Endorses: Barbara Lee Mayor Oakland, CA" .Our Revolution . April 9, 2025. RetrievedApril 17, 2025 .^ "Editorial: Lee for mayor, Wang for city council" .Bay Area Reporter . March 26, 2025. RetrievedApril 17, 2025 .^ Editorial Board (March 22, 2025)."Editorial: As Oakland finances teeter, elect Barbara Lee for mayor, Charlene Wang for council" .East Bay Times . RetrievedMarch 27, 2025 . ^ "Oakland Post Endorses Barbara Lee" .Oakland Post . April 2, 2025. RetrievedApril 17, 2025 .^ Russell, Kiley (April 1, 2025)."Alameda Dems slam Loren Taylor to stop using logo in Oakland mayoral campaign" .LocalNewsMatters Bay Area byBay City News . RetrievedApril 17, 2025 . ^ Wolfe, Eli; Orenstein, Natalie (March 24, 2025)."They recalled Oakland's mayor. Who are they backing now?" .The Oaklandside . RetrievedApril 17, 2025 . ^ Jones, Blake; Gardiner, Dustin; Norman, Nicole (March 27, 2025)."Resistance roars back at the border" .Politico . RetrievedMarch 25, 2025 . ^ Orenstein, Natalie; Wolfe, Eli (March 24, 2025)."Will labor win again in Oakland's mayoral election?" .The Oaklandside . RetrievedApril 17, 2025 .Pat Kernighan, a former District 2 councilmember who's endorsed Taylor for mayor ^ "Endorsement: Barbara Lee is an icon, but Loren Taylor has the ideas to lead Oakland into the future" .San Francisco Chronicle . April 7, 2025. RetrievedApril 16, 2025 .^ "2025 Endorsements: Oakland Special Election (April 15, 2025)" .East Bay Young Democrats . RetrievedApril 17, 2025 .^ McBride, Ashley; BondGraham, Darwin (April 19, 2025)."Barbara Lee declares victory in Oakland mayor's race" .The Oaklandside . RetrievedApril 20, 2025 . ^ "Ranked Choice Voting Results: City of Oakland Special Municipal Election - April 15, 2025, Mayor, Short Term - Oakland (RCV)" .Official Election Site of Alameda County . RetrievedApril 16, 2025 .Official campaign websites
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