Twenty-four of the 100 largest U.S. cities by population held mayoral elections in 2022. Mayoral offices changed partisan control in four of those races, resulting in no net change in the number of offices held by Republicans and Democrats. Once all mayors elected in 2022 are sworn in, Democrats will hold 62 top-100 mayoral offices, Republicans will hold 26, independents will hold three, and nonpartisan mayors will hold seven. One current mayor and one mayor-elect have not responded to Ballotpedia’s inquiries about their partisan affiliation.
Mayoral offices in the following cities flipped as a result of 2022 elections:
- In Anaheim, California, Ashleigh Aitken (D) defeated Acting Mayor Trevor O’Neil (R) and two other candidates on Nov. 8. Former mayor Harry Sidhu (R) resigned in May 2022.
- In Chula Vista, California, City Councilman John McCann (R) defeated Ammar Campa-Najjar (D) in the election to succeed term-limited mayor Mary Salas (D) on Nov. 8.
- In Henderson, Nevada, Michelle Romero (R) was elected to succeed incumbent Debra March (D), who ran for lieutenant governor of Nevada. Romero won the June 14 primary outright with 76% of the vote.
- In North Las Vegas, Nevada, City Councilwoman Pamela Goynes-Brown (D) defeated state Sen. Patricia Spearman (D) in the election to succeed outgoing mayor John J. Lee (R) on Nov. 8. Lee was first elected mayor in 2013 as a Democrat and switched parties in 2021.
In Laredo, Texas, Victor Treviño defeated Mercurio Martinez III in the Dec. 17 runoff to succeed outgoing mayor Pete Saenz (I). Ballotpedia has not been able to determine Treviño’s partisan affiliation.
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) current or previous candidacy for partisan office, or (3) identification of partisan affiliation by multiple media outlets.
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