Tampa voters to decide city council and mayoral races


The general election for Tampa, Florida, is on March 7, 2023. The filing deadline to run passed on Jan. 20. 

Candidates are competing for seven of seven city council seats, and all seven incumbents are running for re-election. Candidates are also competing for mayor of Tampa. Incumbent Jane Castor and Belinda Noah are running in the nonpartisan mayoral election. While most mayoral elections in the 100 largest cities are nonpartisan, most officeholders are affiliated with a political party. Tampa has a Democratic mayor. As of February 2023, 62 mayors in the largest 100 cities by population are affiliated with the Democratic Party, 26 are affiliated with the Republican Party, three are independents, seven identify as nonpartisan or unaffiliated, and two mayors’ affiliations are unknown.

A runoff election is scheduled for April 25, 2023. Runoffs are required for races where no candidate received a majority of the general election vote.

Tampa is the third-largest city in Florida and the 51st-largest city in the U.S. by population.

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