Live Results: Mayoral Elections in Four Cities; Legislative Special Elections in Massachusetts

After a very quiet April, the election calendar picks back up Tuesday with the mayoral election in Lincoln, Nebraska. There are also mayoral primaries in Indiana and Ohio and state house special primaries in Massachusetts.

Looking ahead, several cities in Texas will elect mayors this Saturday.  May 16 will be the busiest day of the month, including the Kentucky statewide primary. In the Bluegrass State, Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear will be seeking a second term. Most of the focus will be on the Republican primary, where a dozen candidates are vying to challenge the incumbent in what is likely to be a competitive general election.

Mayoral Elections

Three of the nation's 100 most populous cities will hold mayoral elections or primaries on Tuesday.^{1 1}City rankings are based on July 1, 2021 Census Bureau population estimates. They are for the city itself, not the associated metropolitan area. Lincoln, Nebraska will hold a general election, while Indianapolis and Fort Wayne in Indiana will hold primaries.

We'll also have results for the Akron, Ohio Democratic primary. 

The four cities are ordered by population.

Indianapolis (Primary)

Mayor Joe Hogsett (D) is seeking a third term. He has drawn several primary challengers, most notably Robin Shackleford, who has served in the Indiana House since 2012.

On the Republican side, four candidates are vying for the nomination. Businessman Jefferson Shreve, who sold his company for $590 million in 2022, has been shattering campaign spending records for a mayoral primary here. Unlike many large cities, Indianapolis has elected GOP mayors in recent history. Republican Greg Ballard preceded Hogsett, serving two terms.

Primary winners advance to the November 7 general election. Polls close at 6:00 PM Eastern Time.

Lincoln

Democratic Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird is seeking a second term. She and Republican Suzanne Geist advanced from the April 2 nonpartisan primary.  Geist resigned her seat in the State Senate after the primary to focus full-time on the general election campaign.

Polls close at 9:00 PM Eastern Time.

Fort Wayne (Primary)

Incumbent Democratic mayor Tom Henry is seeking a 5th term. He is likely to be renominated, although does have a challenger on the primary ballot. 

Three Republicans are seeking their party's nomination. The city last elected a Republican mayor in 1995.

Primary winners advance to the November 7 general election. Polls close at 6:00 PM Eastern Time.

Akron (Primary)

Although outside the top 100 cities in population, Akron's mayoral election may be the one with the highest news value this week.

Incumbent Democratic mayor Dan Horrigan is not running for a third term. 

Seven Democrats are on the ballot looking to succeed him. A recent poll shows three candidates tightly clustered with support in the 15-20% range. However, about 1/3 of voters were undecided, so it is effectively wide open.

The three frontrunners are city councilors Shammas Malik and Tara Mosley, along with Marco Sommerville, the deputy mayor for intergovernmental affairs. Sommerville has the endorsement of Horrigan, as well as Don Plusquellic, who served as mayor from 1987 to 2015.

Racism and police reform are front and center; a grand jury recently declined to indict in last summer's shooting death of Jayland Walker during a traffic stop. 

No Republicans qualified for a primary. As a result, Tuesday's Democratic primary winner will almost certainly be the city's next mayor. 

Polls close at 7:30 PM Eastern Time.

Legislative Special Elections

Massachusetts State House Districts Suffolk 9 and 10

Democrats dominate the 160-member Massachusetts House of Representatives, holding a 132-25 partisan advantage over Republicans. There is one independent and two vacancies. Members serve two year terms, with the next regularly scheduled elections in 2024.

Each of the state's 14 counties is divided up into single member House districts. In Suffolk County, where the two vacancies are, there are 19 districts.

In both cases, the general election is May 30. These will largely be a formality, as the Democratic nominee will be the only name on the ballot.

Polls close at 8:00 PM Eastern Time.

District 9: Democrat Jon Santiago resigned to take a job with Gov. Maura Healey (D). This Boston seat is heavily Democratic; no Republican has run here for at least a decade. That will continue with the special election. Democrats John Moran and Amparo Ortiz are on the ballot, although Ortiz appears to have withdrawn from the race.

District 10: Democrat Edward Coppinger resigned to take a government affairs job with a trade organization. This district is just to the southwest of downtown Boston. As in District 9, this is not electorally friendly territory for Republicans and none are running. Three Democrats are seeking the nomination.

Upcoming Elections

Statewide Primaries

• May 16
  • Kentucky Primary
  • Pennsylvania Supreme Court Primary
• June 6
  • New Jersey Primary

Special Elections

• May 16
  • Florida State House District 24
  • Georgia State House District 68
  • Kentucky State Senate District 28
  • New Hampshire State House District Hillsborough 3
  • Pennsylvania State House Districts 108 and 163
• May 30
  • Massachusetts State House Districts Suffolk 9 and 10

Mayoral Elections

• May 6
  • Texas: Arlington, Dallas, Fort Worth, Garland, Irving, San Antonio
    • Irving incumbent is unopposed
• May 16
  • Colorado Springs, Colorado (Runoff)
  • Jacksonville, Florida (Runoff)
  • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Primary)
• June 6
  • Denver, Colorado (Runoff)

Other Important Dates

• June 20
  • Virginia Primary
• August 8
  • Mississippi Primary