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| Turnout | 44.17% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Strongest candidate by borough | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 2018 Tel Aviv mayoral election was held on 30 October 2018 to elect the mayor of Tel Aviv. It saw the reelection of Ron Huldai to a fifth consecutive term. [1]
The election was part of the 2018 Israeli municipal elections.
A popular four-term incumbent, Ron Huldai had never before faced a serious reelection challenge. [1]
Lacking name recognition when he announced his candidacy, Asaf Zamir's prospects were initially considered a longshot. However, in the months after launching his campaign, Zamir saw his support rise. [1] Before the election results came in, it was anticipated that he would at least force Huldai into a runoff election. [1] As of July, a poll by Walla News showed Zamir in third place with only 11% of the vote, behind Huldai and prospective candidate Stav Shaffir. [3] However, after Shaffir's made clear she would not be a candidate in the election, Zamir gradually climbed in support, posing a credible challenge to Huldai. [3] Some polling shortly before the election showed Huldai with only a single-digit lead over Zamir. [3]
Attacks on Zamir included accusations of crony capitalism related to his marriage to Maya Wertheimer, which made his grandfather-in-law billionaire Stef Wertheimer. Stef Wertheimer personally funded part of Zamir's reelection campaign. [1]
Huldai and Zamir shared many similar political concerns, both advocating for lowering the price of housing, improvements to public transportation, and increasing the livability of the city. [1]
Zamir promised to address housing needs by building the city vertically, adding high-rise apartments along busier roadways that can accommodate such buildings. [3] He also proposed expanding the city center by renovating more distant neighborhoods in order to enable people to live further from the city's geographic core, without feeling removed from the city. [3]
| Date | Polling firm | Sample Size | Margin of error | Vote share | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Natan Elnatan | Zippi Brand Frank | Ron Huldai | Meital Leavi | Stav Shaffir | Yair Tzabari | Asaf Harel | Assaf Zamir | Undecided | Will not vote | ||||
| Mid-October 2018 | Panels Research Institute [5] | - | 27.6% | - | - | - | 10.1% | 23.9% | |||||
| October 2018 | Panels Research Institute [6] | 505 | ±4.4% | 6.0% | - | 25.7% | - | - | - | 7.3% | 20.0% | 35.3% | 5.7% |
| Early October 2018 | Panels Politix Research Institute/Walla News [7] | 513 | 7% | - | 32% | - | - | - | 9% | 23% | 29% | - | |
| August 2018 | Channel 2 [4] | - | 2% | 45% | 1% | 14% | - | 10% | - | - | |||
| July 2018 | Panels Politix Research Institute/Walla News [2] | - | - | 25% | 4% | 15% | 3% | - | 11% | 40% | - | ||
The results in Tel Aviv, with 203,018 voters participating of 440,205 eligible, are as follows. Of the 203,018 votes, 194,451 were valid (marking 44.17% turnout).
Since Huldai's share of the vote exceeded the 40% threshold required to avert a runoff election, no runoff was held. [1]
Huldai was seen as managing to both retain his strong support among the city's younger electorate, as well as retain a base of fervent supporters among a minority of the city's older residents. [1]
| Candidate | Party name | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ron Huldai (incumbent) | One Tel Aviv | תל אביב 1, Tel Aviv Ahat | 91,116 | 46.86% |
| Asaf Zamir | City Majority | רוב העיר, Rov HaIr | 66,403 | 34.15% |
| Assaf Harel | We Are the City | אנחנו העיר, Anahnu HaIr | 23,604 | 12.14% |
| Natan Elnatan | Shas | ש"ס | 13,328 | 6.85% |
| Source: Ministry of the Interior [8] | ||||
