At the start of January 2026, the mayors of 67 of the country's 100 largest cities were affiliated with theDemocratic Party.Republicans held 22 mayoral offices,Libertarians held ine office,independents held three, and five mayors werenonpartisan. Two mayors' partisan affiliations were unknown.
Ballotpedia tracks the partisan affiliation of the mayors of the 100 largest cities and each state capital, including mayors of cities holding nonpartisan mayoral elections. Clickhere to learn more.
Our coverage scope for local elections continues to grow, and you can useBallotpedia's sample ballot tool to see what mayoral elections we are covering in your area.
To view a different election year, click one of the links below.
Cities in Ballotpedia's coverage scope held an average of 33.4 mayoral elections and 59.2 city council elections each year between 2015 and 2024. From 2014 to 2016, our coverage scope included the100 largest U.S. cities by population. In 2017, Ballotpedia began covering the counties that overlap those cities, as well. In 2021, our coverage scope expanded to include the mayors, city councils, and district attorneys in the 32 state capitals that fell outside the 100 largest U.S. cities.
This section includes statistics for mayoral elections, city council elections, and county elections between 2014 and 2024, 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 2014, 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 2024
Year
Cities
Mayor
City council
Counties
2024
85
41
72
80
2023
77
40
69
29
2022
86
34
75
81
2021
70
40
59
22
2020
59
29
52
80
2019
64
30
63
29
2018
58
26
49
78
2017
59
36
50
23
2016
46
25
45
12
2015
59
33
58
N/A
2014
43
24
42
N/A
Mayoral elections
Between 2015 and 2024, 67.4% of incumbent mayors sought re-election; of these, 16.9% 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 2024
Year
Total seats
Uncontested
Incumbents who sought re-election
Incumbents defeated
#
%
#
%
#
%
2024
41
2
4.9%
28
68.3%
5
17.9%
2023
40
5
12.5%
26
65.0%
4
15.4%
2022
34
0
0.0%
22
64.7%
3
13.6%
2021
40
1
2.5%
24
60.0%
3
12.5%
2020
29
1
3.4%
22
75.9%
5
22.7%
2019
30
2
6.7%
21
70.0%
4
19.0%
2018
26
1
3.8%
18
69.2%
1
5.6%
2017
36
0
0.0%
24
66.7%
5
20.8%
2016
25
4
16.0%
15
60.0%
4
26.7%
2015
33
3
9.1%
25
75.8%
4
16.0%
2014
24
2
8.3%
14
58.3%
2
14.3%
City council elections
Between 2015 and 2024, 68.6% of city council incumbents sought re-election; of these, 13.2% 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 2024
Year
Total seats
Uncontested
Incumbents who sought re-election
Incumbents defeated
#
%
#
%
#
%
2024
328
65
19.8%
214
65.2%
33
15.4%
2023
610
126
20.7%
442
72.5%
41
9.3%
2022
346
58
16.8%
215
62.1%
37
17.2%
2021
416
63
15.1%
276
66.3%
47
17.0%
2020
253
47
18.6%
175
69.2%
26
14.9%
2019
457
59
12.9%
312
68.3%
39
12.5%
2018
200
29
14.5%
137
68.5%
19
13.9%
2017
367
47
12.8%
274
74.7%
37
13.5%
2016
216
48
22.2%
156
72.2%
22
14.1%
2015
467
97
20.8%
309
66.2%
30
9.7%
2014
198
31
15.7%
130
65.7%
21
16.2%
County elections
Between 2017 and 2024, 82.1% of county and special district incumbents sought re-election; of these, 7.6% were defeated in their bids for re-election. The table below is organized by year and includes the total number of county races and the number and percentage of uncontested races, incumbents who sought re-election, and incumbents who were defeated in their re-election bids.
County election incumbency statistics from 2017 to 2024
Year
Total seats
Uncontested
Incumbents who sought re-election
Incumbents defeated
#
%
#
%
#
%
2024
2,361
1,388
58.8%
1,942
82.3%
109
5.6%
2023
208
105
50.5%
131
63.0%
7
5.3%
2022
2,499
1,347
53.9%
2,041
81.7%
152
7.4%
2021
176
59
33.5%
106
60.2%
8
7.5%
2020
2,167
1,190
54.9%
1,861
85.9%
147
7.9%
2019
183
85
46.4%
140
76.5%
11
7.9%
2018
2,168
1,115
51.4%
1,807
83.3%
176
9.7%
2017
108
47
43.5%
74
68.5%
9
12.2%
Uncontested races
An average of 5.7% mayoral races and 17.5% city council races went uncontested between 2015 and 2024. In terms of mayoral elections, 2023 saw the highest number of uncontested races (five) and 2017 and 2022 saw the fewest (zero). For city council seats, 2023 had the highest number of uncontested races (126) and 2018 had the fewest (29). The chart below shows the percentage of uncontested mayoral and city council races between 2015 and 2024.
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