On Nov. 25, Washington, D.C. mayor Muriel Bowser (D) announced that she would not run for re-election in 2026—making her the first mayor of a major U.S. city to do so.

Bowser was first elected D.C. mayor in 2014. She was re-elected in 2018 and 2022. D.C. does not have mayoral term limits. 

Other than D.C.,  22 of the 100 most populous U.S. cities are holding mayoral elections in 2026. In these cities, 10 mayors have announced that they are running for re-election, four mayors are term-limited, and eight mayors have not yet announced whether or not they will run for re-election.

Twenty-seven the 100 most populous cities held mayoral elections in 2025. Eighteen mayors ran for re-election and nine didn’t. Four mayors could not run for re-election due to term limits. 

Thirty-four of the 100 most populous cities held mayoral elections in 2024. Twenty-one mayors ran for re-election, 13 didn’t. Six mayors could not run for re-election due to term-limits.

Of the mayors who did not run for re-election in 2025, seven were Democrats and two were Republicans.

The following chart shows what the partisan breakdown of mayors in the top 100 most populous U.S. cities will once all mayors elected in 2025 are sworn in. 

Click here to learn more about mayoral elections in 2026.