The 2016

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...

mayoral election was held November 8, 2016 concurrent with the

General Election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

Stephanie Rawlings-Blake Stephanie C. Rawlings-Blake (born March 17, 1970) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 50th Mayor of Baltimore from 2010 to 2016, the second woman to hold that office. She has also served as secretary of the Democratic Nationa ...

, the

incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seeking re-ele ...

mayor, did not run for reelection.

Catherine Pugh Catherine Elizabeth Pugh (born March 10, 1950) is an American former politician. A member of the Democratic Party, she served as the 51st mayor of Baltimore from 2016 to 2019, when she resigned amid a scandal that eventually led to criminal char ...

won the election on November 8, 2016, with 57% of the popular vote, and took office on December 6, 2016.

Background and candidates

Incumbent Mayor

did not seek re-election in 2016. She completed former Mayor Dixon's term, and won the mayoral seat in the 2011 mayoral race. After holding the office for five years, she faced challenges and criticism during her tenure. Notable events include the 2015 Freddie Gray Protests, Governor Hogan's rejection of the Baltimore Red Line, and an increase in crime since the Freddie Gray Protests in April 2015. On July 1, 2015,

Sheila Dixon Sheila Ann Dixon (born December 27, 1953) is an American politician who served as the forty-eighth mayor of Baltimore, Maryland. When the former mayor, Martin O'Malley, was sworn in as governor on January 17, 2007, Dixon, the president of the Bal ...

entered the 2016 mayoral race. (The terms of Dixon's probation prevented her from running for office until after December 2012.) Since her announcement, Dixon has campaigned in West Baltimore about the city's increasing transportation issues. Additional candidates include

Baltimore City Council The Baltimore City Council is the legislative branch that governs the City of Baltimore and its more than 600,000 citizens. It has 14 members elected by district and a president elected at-large; all serve four-year terms. The Council holds regu ...

members

Nick Mosby Nick J. Mosby (born 1978) is an American politician from Baltimore, Maryland. He is the current President of the Baltimore City Council. First elected to serve on the City Council from 2011 to 2016, Mosby was subsequently appointed in 2017 to th ...

and

Carl Stokes Carl Burton Stokes (June 21, 1927 – April 3, 1996) was an American politician and diplomat of the Democratic Party who served as the 51st mayor of Cleveland, Ohio. Elected on November 7, 1967, and taking office on January 1, 1968, he was ...

, author

Wes Moore Westley Watende Omari Moore (born October 15, 1978) is an American politician, investment banker, author, and television producer. He is the governor-elect of Maryland, after defeating Republican Dan Cox in the 2022 Maryland gubernatorial el ...

, Baltimore Police Sergeant Gersham Cupid, writer Mack Clifton, engineer Calvin Young, ''Baltimore Sun''

op-ed An op-ed, short for "opposite the editorial page", is a written prose piece, typically published by a North-American newspaper or magazine, which expresses the opinion of an author usually not affiliated with the publication's editorial board. ...

contributor Connor Meek, attorney and

public servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

Elizabeth Embry, and

Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter (abbreviated BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people. Its primary concerns are incidents of police bruta ...

activist

DeRay Mckesson DeRay Mckesson (born July 9, 1985) is an American civil rights activist, podcaster, and former school administrator. An early supporter of the Black Lives Matter movement, he has been active in the protests in Ferguson, Missouri, and Baltimore ...

. On September 11, 2015, Rawlings-Blake announced that she would not seek re-election as mayor, stating, "It was a very difficult decision, but I knew I needed to spend time focused on the city's future, not my own".

Democratic primary

The Democratic mayoral primary was held on April 26, 2016.

won the Democratic primary running against former Mayor

and 11 other challengers in a crowded field to replace Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake. Declared * Mack Clifton, writer * Gersham Cupid, Baltimore police sergeant * Sheila Dixon, former Mayor of Baltimore * Elizabeth Embry, attorney and public servant * Patrick Gutierrez, former bank operations manager * Mike Maraziti, business owner *

, civil rights activist and former school teacher/administrator * Connor Meek, ''Baltimore Sun''

contributor *

, Baltimore City Council member for the 7th district (dropped out) *

, State Senator for the 40th district and former Baltimore City Council member for the 4th district * Carl Stokes, Baltimore City Council member for the 12th district * Cindy Walsh, former UPS manager and candidate for

Governor of Maryland The Governor of the State of Maryland is the head of government of Maryland, and is the commander-in-chief of the state's National Guard units. The Governor is the highest-ranking official in the state and has a broad range of appointive powers ...

in the 2014 gubernatorial election * David Warnock, businessman * Wilton Wilson, nurse * Calvin Young, engineer Declined *

, incumbent Mayor of Baltimore

Republican primary

Declared * Armand Girard, retired math teacher * Chancellor Torbit * Brian Charles Vaeth,

perennial candidate A perennial candidate is a political candidate who frequently runs for elected office and rarely, if ever, wins. Perennial candidates' existence lies in the fact that in some countries, there are no laws that limit a number of times a person can ...

*Alan Walden, retired WBAL radio personality * Larry Wardlow

Green Party primary

Declared * Joshua Harris, community activist, co-founder of Hollins Creative Placemaking * David Marriott, US Marine * Emanuel McCray, Army Veteran

Write-in candidates

Former Mayor of Baltimore

, who lost in the Democratic primary, re-entered the race as a

write-in candidate A write-in candidate is a candidate whose name does not appear on the ballot but seeks election by asking voters to cast a vote for the candidate by physically writing in the person's name on the ballot. Depending on electoral law it may be poss ...

and came in second to Pugh with 22% of the popular vote. Democratic candidate Mack Clifton, who also lost in the primaries, re-entered as a write-in candidate. In addition, Republican Steven H. Smith, Independent Frank Logan, and unaffiliated candidates Sarah Klauda and Lavern Murray, who did not run in the primaries, joined the race as write-in candidates.

Results

References

External links

Alan Walden for Mayor
(R)
Catherine Pugh for Mayor
(D)
Joshua Harris for Mayor
(G) {{2016 United States elections

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

November 2016 events in the United States Mayoral elections in Baltimore Baltimore mayoral