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Party affiliation of the mayors of the 100 largest cities

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As of November 2025, thepartisan breakdown of the mayors of the 100 largest U.S. cities is 66Democrats, 23Republicans, oneLibertarian, threeindependents, and fivenonpartisans. Two mayors' partisan affiliations are unknown.[1]

Between 2016 and 2025, an average of 64 of the100 largest U.S. cities by population had aDemocratic mayor at the beginning of the year, ranging from 61 to 65. An average of 29 cities had aRepublican mayor, ranging from 25 to 30.

Mayoral elections are officially nonpartisan in most of the nation's largest cities. However, many officeholders are affiliated with political parties. Ballotpedia uses one or more of the following sources to identify each officeholder's partisan affiliation: (1) direct communication from the officeholder, (2) current or previous candidacy for partisan office, or (3) identification of partisan affiliation by multiple media outlets.

This page includes:

Click the year to view our mayoral partisanship data in more detail:2025,2024,2023,2022,2021,2020,2019,2018,2017,2016.

Who runs the cities?

See also:Partisanship in United States municipal elections (2025)

Heading into 2025, 78% of the population of the top 100 cities lived in cities with Democratic mayors, and 16% lived in cities with Republican mayors, based on 2020 population estimates.

The twenty largest cities by population had the most Democratic mayors and the fewest Republican mayors:

As of November 2025, the mayors of 66 of the country's 100 largest cities are affiliated with theDemocratic Party.

Note: Ballotpedia used one or more of the following sources to identify each officeholder's partisan affiliation: (1) direct communication from the officeholder, (2) current or previous candidacy for partisan office, or (3) identification of partisan affiliation by multiple media outlets.

Mayoral partisanship: 2016-2025

The chart below shows the partisan breakdown of mayors of the top 100 cities at the start of each year since 2016. Between 2016 and 2025, the number of Democratic-led top-100 cities ranged from 61 to 65, and the number of Republican-led cities ranged from 25 to 30.

Aggregate vote breakdown

The following chart shows a breakdown of the votes cast in the most recent mayoral election in the 100 most populous U.S. cities, as of June 2025.[2] Votes for winning candidates are shown according to the winner's partisan affiliation. Votes for losing candidates are shown in gray.

Mayoral elections in 2025

See also:Partisanship in United States municipal elections (2025)

Mayoral elections are being held in 27 of the 100 largest U.S. cities in 2025. The following table shows the results of those elections.[3]



List of mayors of the 100 largest cities

The following table contains a list of current mayors of the 100 largest cities in the U.S. by population.

Note: Ballotpedia used one or more of the following sources to identify each officeholder's partisan affiliation: (1) direct communication from the officeholder, (2) current or previous candidacy for partisan office, or (3) identification of partisan affiliation by multiple media outlets.


100 Largest Cities By Population
RankCityPopulation (2020)MayorTook officeTerm endsGovernment typeMayoral election in 2025?
1New York, New York8,804,190Eric Adams20222026Strong mayorYes
2Los Angeles, California3,898,747Karen Bass20222026Strong mayorNo
3Chicago, Illinois2,746,388Brandon Johnson20232027Strong mayorNo
4Houston, Texas2,304,580John Whitmire20242028Strong mayorNo
5Phoenix, Arizona1,608,139Kate Gallego20192029Council-managerNo
6Philadelphia, Pennsylvania1,603,797Cherelle Parker20242028Strong mayorNo
7San Antonio, Texas1,434,625Gina Ortiz Jones20252027Council-managerYes
8San Diego, California1,386,932Todd Gloria20202028Strong mayorNo
9Dallas, Texas1,304,379Eric Johnson20192027Council-managerNo
10San Jose, California1,013,240Matt Mahan20232029Council-managerNo
11Austin, Texas961,855Kirk Watson20232029Council-managerNo
12Jacksonville, Florida949,611Donna Deegan20232027Strong mayorNo
13Fort Worth, Texas918,915Mattie Parker20212027Council-managerYes
14Columbus, Ohio905,748Andrew J. Ginther20152027Strong mayorNo
15Indianapolis, Indiana897,041Joseph Hogsett20162028Strong mayorNo
16Charlotte, North Carolina874,579Vi Lyles20172025Council-managerYes
17San Francisco, California873,965Daniel Lurie20252029Strong mayorNo
18Seattle, Washington737,015Bruce Harrell20222025Strong mayorYes
19Denver, Colorado715,522Michael Johnston20232027Strong mayorNo
20Nashville, Tennessee715,884Freddie O'Connell20232027Strong mayorNo
21Oklahoma City, Oklahoma681,054David Holt20182026Council-managerNo
22El Paso, Texas678,815Renard Johnson (Unknown)20252029Council-managerNo
23Boston, Massachusetts675,647Michelle Wu20212026Strong mayorYes
24Portland, Oregon652,503Keith Wilson20252029HybridNo
25Las Vegas, Nevada641,903Shelley Berkley20242028Council-managerNo
26Detroit, Michigan639,111Mike Duggan20142026Strong mayorYes
27Memphis, Tennessee633,104Paul Young20242028Strong mayorNo
28Louisville, Kentucky633,045Craig Greenberg20232027Strong mayorNo
29Baltimore, Maryland585,708Brandon M. Scott20242028Strong mayorNo
30Milwaukee, Wisconsin577,222Cavalier Johnson20212028Strong mayorNo
31Albuquerque, New Mexico564,559Tim Keller20172025Strong mayorYes
32Tucson, Arizona542,629Regina Romero20192027Council-managerNo
33Fresno, California542,107Jerry Dyer20252029HybridNo
34Sacramento, California524,943Kevin McCarty20242028Council-managerNo
35Kansas City, Missouri508,090Quinton Lucas20192027Council-managerNo
36Mesa, Arizona504,258Mark Freeman2025 2029Council-managerNo
37Atlanta, Georgia498,715Andre Dickens20222026Strong mayorYes
38Omaha, Nebraska486,051John Ewing Jr.20252029Strong mayorYes
39Colorado Springs, Colorado478,961Yemi Mobolade20232027Strong mayorNo
40Raleigh, North Carolina467,665Janet Cowell20242026Council-managerNo
41Long Beach, California466,742Rex Richardson20222026Council-managerNo
42Virginia Beach, Virginia459,470Bob Dyer20182028Council-managerNo
43Miami, Florida442,241Francis Suarez20212026HybridYes
44Oakland, California440,646Barbara Lee20252027HybridYes
45Minneapolis, Minnesota429,954Jacob Frey20222026Strong mayorYes
46Tulsa, Oklahoma413,066Monroe Nichols20242028Strong mayorNo
47Bakersfield, California403,455Karen Goh20172029Council-managerNo
48Wichita, Kansas397,532Lily Wu20242028Council-managerNo
49Arlington, Texas394,266Jim Ross20212026Council-managerNo
50Aurora, Colorado386,261Mike Coffman20192027Council-managerNo
51Tampa, Florida384,959Jane Castor20192027Strong mayorNo
52New Orleans, Louisiana383,997LaToya Cantrell20182026Strong mayorYes
53Cleveland, Ohio372,624Justin Bibb20222026Strong mayorYes
54Honolulu, Hawaii350,964Rick Blangiardi20212028Strong mayorNo
55Anaheim, California346,824Ashleigh Aitken20222026Council-managerNo
56Lexington, Kentucky322,570Linda Gorton20192027Strong mayorNo
57Stockton, California320,804Christina Fugazi20252029Council-managerNo
58Corpus Christi, Texas317,863Paulette Guajardo (Nonpartisan)20252027Council-managerNo
59Henderson, Nevada317,610Michelle Romero20232027Council-managerNo
60Riverside, California314,998Patricia Lock Dawson (Nonpartisan)20202028Council-managerNo
61Newark, New Jersey311,549Ras J. Baraka20142026Strong mayorNo
62St. Paul, Minnesota311,527Melvin Carter III20222026Strong mayorYes
63Santa Ana, California310,227Valerie Amezcua20222026Council-managerNo
64Cincinnati, Ohio309,317Aftab Pureval20222026HybridYes
65Irvine, California307,670Larry Agran20242026Council-managerNo
66Orlando, Florida307,573Buddy Dyer20032028Strong mayorNo
67Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania302,971Edward Gainey20222026Strong mayorYes
68St. Louis, Missouri301,578Cara Spencer20252029Strong mayorYes
69Greensboro, North Carolina299,035Nancy B. Vaughan20132025Council-managerYes
70Jersey City, New Jersey292,449Steven Fulop20132026Strong mayorYes
71Anchorage, Alaska291,247Suzanne LaFrance (Nonpartisan)20242027HybridNo
72Lincoln, Nebraska291,082Leirion Gaylor Baird20192027Strong mayorNo
73Plano, Texas285,494John Muns20212029Council-managerYes
74Durham, North Carolina283,506Leonardo Williams20232025Council-managerYes
75Buffalo, New York278,349Christopher P. Scanlon20242025Strong mayorYes
76Chandler, Arizona275,987Kevin Hartke20192027Council-managerNo
77Chula Vista, California275,487John McCann20222026Council-managerNo
78Toledo, Ohio270,871Wade Kapszukiewicz20222026Strong mayorYes
79Madison, Wisconsin269,840Satya Rhodes-Conway20192027Strong mayorNo
80Gilbert, Arizona267,918Scott Anderson20252029HybridNo
81Reno, Nevada264,165Hillary Schieve (Nonpartisan)20142026Council-managerNo
82Fort Wayne, Indiana263,886Sharon Tucker20242027Strong mayorNo
83North Las Vegas, Nevada262,527Pamela Goynes-Brown20222026Council-managerNo
84St. Petersburg, Florida258,308Kenneth Welch20222027Strong mayorNo
85Lubbock, Texas257,141Mark McBrayer20242026Council-managerNo
86Irving, Texas256,684Rick Stopfer20172026Council-managerNo
87Laredo, Texas255,205Victor Treviño (Unknown)20222026Council-managerNo
88Winston-Salem, North Carolina249,545Allen Joines20012028Council-managerNo
89Chesapeake, Virginia249,422Richard West20082028Council-managerNo
90Glendale, Arizona248,325Jerry Weiers20132028Council-managerNo
91Garland, Texas246,018Dylan Hedrick (Nonpartisan)20252027Council-managerYes
92Scottsdale, Arizona241,361Lisa Borowsky20252029Council-managerNo
93Norfolk, Virginia238,005Kenneth Alexander20162029Council-managerNo
94Boise, Idaho235,684Lauren McLean20202028Strong mayorNo
95Fremont, California230,504Raj Salwan20242028Council-managerNo
96Spokane, Washington228,989Lisa Brown20242028Strong mayorNo
97Santa Clarita, California228,673Bill Miranda[4]20242025Council-managerNo
98Baton Rouge, Louisiana227,470Emile "Sid" Edwards20252028Strong mayorNo
99Richmond, Virginia226,610Danny Avula20252029Strong mayorNo
100Hialeah, Florida223,109Jackie Garcia-Roves20252025Strong mayorYes 

Mayoral partisanship and preemption conflicts

See also:Preemption conflicts between state and local governments

Preemption occurs when law at a higher level of government is used to overrule authority at a lower level. State law can be used to preempt local ordinances.[5]

The split between red states and blue cities is one source of preemption conflicts at the state and local level. For example, in 2017, Republican state governments preempted Democratic-led efforts to increase the minimum wage inSt. Louis,Missouri, and decriminalize marijuana inMemphis andNashville inTennessee.

However, shared party affiliations don't guarantee that state and local governments will see eye-to-eye. For example,New York's Democratic governor,Andrew Cuomo, signed a 2017 bill blocking a plastic bag tax in Democratic-ledNew York City.

See the following pages for more information on state and local preemption conflicts by policy area (Note: As of May 2022, these pages no longer receive scheduled updates):

See also

Footnotes

  1. ↑In cities where mayoral elections are nonpartisan, Ballotpedia uses one or more of the following sources to identify each officeholder's partisan affiliation: (1) direct communication from the officeholder, (2) previous candidacy for partisan office, or (3) identification of partisan affiliation by multiple media outlets.
  2. ↑Does not include Santa Clarita, California, which does not popularly elect its mayor
  3. ↑The mayor ofSanta Clarita, California, is selected by the members of theSanta Clarita City Council each December.
  4. ↑The mayor ofSanta Clarita, California, is selected by the members of theSanta Clarita City Council each December.
  5. ↑National League of Cities, "City rights in an era of preemption: A state-by-state analysis," 2017
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