Twenty-two of the nation’s 100 most populous cities are holding mayoral elections this year, and so far, no mayors are voluntarily retiring. (Note: This analysis does not include Washington, D.C.)

An average of 63.4% of mayors ran for re-election between 2020 and 2025, and an average of 16.3% of mayors retired (not including term-limited mayors). An average of 17.5% of mayors were term-limited. 

At least one mayor of a city holding elections in 2027 is retiring. Charlotte, North Carolina, Mayor Vi Lyles (D) will resign from office on June 30, 2026.

Additionally, every incumbent running for re-election in the 100 largest cities has at least one opponent at the first stage of their re-election bid. There are 5.4 candidates running per city — below the six-year average but comparable to 2024's 5.2 candidates per city at this point in the year.

Thirteen of the 100 largest cities have held some type of mayoral election so far this year. Eight cities have held primaries. Five cities have held general elections. One additional city’s mayoral primary –the one in Raleigh, North Carolina, was canceled after only two candidates filed to run. Here's a look at some recent results.

Three mayoral primaries in the 100 largest cities took place in California on June 2.

In Los Angeles – the second-largest city in the U.S. and the largest city holding a mayoral election this year – incumbent Mayor Karen Bass and City Council member Nithya Raman, both Democrats, advanced to the general election. Bass received 34.3% of the vote to Raman’s 28.5% in the nonpartisan primary. Reality TV star Spencer Pratt, a Republican, received the third most votes at 25.8%. 

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), both business and labor organizations, and the Los Angeles County Democratic Party endorsed Bass. Abundant Housing LA and the Future Urbanist Club endorsed Raman. 

In Long Beach – the 41st-largest city – incumbent Rex Richardson won outright, receiving 57% of the vote in the primary. There were five other candidates who received between 2.8% and 19.7% of the vote each. Richardson is the first mayor to be elected outright in a primary this year. 

In Chula Vista – the 77th-largest city – incumbent John McCann and Francisco Tamayo advanced with 56.2% and 39.5%, respectively. 

Here are some other noteworthy mayoral elections from across the country since our last update.

• Lexington, Kentucky, held a primary with seven candidates on May 19. Incumbent Linda Gorton (Nonpartisan) and Raquel Carter (Nonpartisan) advanced to the Nov. 3 general election. Gorton received 45.8%, and Carter received 28.3%.
• On May 19, Louisville, Kentucky, held a primary with nine candidates. Incumbent Craig Greenberg and Shameka Parrish-Wright advanced with 52.5% and 26.3%, respectively. The city was required to switch to nonpartisan elections under HB288, which the Kentucky General Assembly passed in 2024. According to the Jefferson County Clerk’s Office, the change from partisan to nonpartisan primaries made about 75,000 independent voters eligible to vote in the primaries for the first time. Governor Andy Beshear (D), U.S. Rep. Morgan McGarvey (D), Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman (D), and eight Democratic members of the Louisville Metro Council endorsed Greenberg. Jefferson County Kentuckians for the Commonwealth, Louisville Showing Up for Racial Justice, Louisville DSA, C-FAIR, and Planned Parenthood endorsed Parrish-Wright.
• Reno, Nevada, held its first open race for mayor since 2014. Incumbent Hillary Schieve was term-limited. Nine candidates ran, including a former lieutenant governor and two city council members. As of this writing, the race was still uncalled. 

Currently, there are 67 Democratic mayors, 21 Republican mayors, one Libertarian mayor, three independent mayors, six nonpartisan mayors, and one unaffiliated mayor. One mayor's partisan affiliation is unknown. As we mentioned in our April 9 edition of the Daily Brew, that’s the most Democratic mayors since 2016. 

Irving, Texas, is the only city to change mayoral partisanship so far this year — unaffiliated candidate Albert Zapanta won the May 2 general election to replace Republican incumbent Rick Stopfer.

There are no other general elections for mayor in a top-100 city scheduled until Nov. 3. The next top-100 city scheduled to hold a mayoral primary is Chandler, Arizona, on July 21.

Click here to see our analysis of competitiveness in mayoral elections this year, and here to see our analysis of partisanship in those elections.