Category: Local
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Wisconsin becomes the 21st state to adopt a K-12 cellphone ban in 2025
On Oct. 31, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D) signed Assembly Bill 2 requiring school boards to adopt policies to prohibit cellphone use during instructional time. The Wisconsin Assembly passed the bill 53-45 on Feb. 19 with mostly Republican support. Fifty-three Republicans voted in favor. One Republican and 44 Democrats voted against it. On Oct. 14,…
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Bryan Calvo to be third mayor of Hialeah, Florida in less than a year
Bryan Calvo defeated Jesús Tundidor, incumbent Jackie Garcia-Roves, and two other candidates in the primary election for mayor of Hialeah, Florida, on Nov. 4. A general election was scheduled for Dec. 9, but was canceled after Calvo received a majority of the vote, winning the election outright. At the age of 27, Calvo was the…
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Democratic socialist Katie Wilson elected mayor of Seattle as progressives win downballot races
With nearly 280,000 ballots counted as of Nov. 13, Katie Wilson has been declared the winner of the election for mayor of Seattle, defeating incumbent Bruce Harrell 50.2%-49.5%. Seattle has roughly 505,000 registered voters. Although Seattle’s mayoral elections are officially nonpartisan, both candidates were Democrats. This race was one of several 2025 mayoral contests that…
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Girmay Zahilay defeated Claudia Balducci in nonpartisan general election for King County, Washington, executive
Girmay Zahilay defeated Claudia Balducci in the nonpartisan general election for county executive of King County, Washington, on Nov. 4, 2025. The county executive leads county employees, manages the biennial budget, and delivers services to county residents. This was the first election since 2009 in which former incumbent Dow Constantine was not on the ballot.…
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Dorean Taylor defeats incumbent Julia Spilsbury in Nov. 4 Mesa, Arizona City Council recall election
An election to recall District 2 City Councilwoman Julie Spilsbury took place on November 4, 2025, in Mesa, Arizona. Dorean Taylor defeated Spilsbury 52.8%-47.2%, according to the unofficial election results as of 8 p.m. MST on Nov. 4. The recall effort began on Jan. 30, 2025, when Mesa resident JoAnne Robbins filed a recall petition.…
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Six candidates are running in the general election for three seats on the Lakota Local Schools Board of Education on Nov. 4, 2025
Six candidates are running in the nonpartisan general election for three at-large seats on the five-member Lakota Local Schools Board of Education in Butler County, Ohio, on Nov. 4, 2025. The three candidates who receive the most votes will serve four-year terms on the board. According to Journal News’ Michael D. Clark, “The stakes in…
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All candidates for Bangor, Maine, school board complete Ballotpedia’s Candidate Connection survey
All candidates running in the at-large election for school board in Bangor, Maine—Frank Joseph Casella, Mallory Cole Cook, Laura Marlena Otis, and Benjamin J. Speed—completed Ballotpedia’s Candidate Connection survey. These survey responses allow voters to hear directly from candidates about what motivates them to run for office. All survey respondents are asked to tell voters…
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School board incumbents won by larger margins in 2024 than in their previous races
How did school board incumbents fare in 2024 compared to their last elections? Ballotpedia’s core school board election coverage includes the 200 largest school districts by student enrollment and the school districts that overlap the 100 largest cities by population. In 2024, we covered 1,058 seats up for election that fell within our core coverage…
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Andy Shirtliff and Emily Dean advance from nonpartisan primary for mayor of Helena, Montana
On Sept. 9, Andy Shirtliff and Emily Dean advanced from the nonpartisan primary for mayor of Helena, Montana. Shirtliff received 48.33% of the vote and Dean received 36.53%. The general election is on Nov. 4, 2025. Sonda Gaub, Braxton Hudson, and Chris Riccardo also ran in the nonpartisan primary. This election was the first since…
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James Walden withdraws from New York City's mayoral race
On September 2, 2025, independent New York City mayoral candidate James Walden (I) suspended his campaign for mayor. In an interview, Walden cited the rise of candidate Zohran Mamdani (D) as the factor for his withdrawal, saying, “The math is the math. And it doesn’t make sense for me to continue to push to surge,…