2020 Baltimore mayoral election

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2020 Baltimore mayoral election
Flag of Baltimore, Maryland.svg
←  2016 November 3, 2020 2024  →
Turnout60.88% Increase2.svg[ quantify ] pp [1]
  Brandon Scott (cropped).jpg 3x4.svg 3x4.svg
Nominee Brandon Scott Bob WallaceShannon Wright
Party Democratic Independent Republican
Popular vote164,66147,27516,664
Percentage70.49%20.24%7.13%
Baltimore Mayor 2020.svg
Precinct results
Scott:     30–40%     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%
     No votes
Mayor of Baltimore before election

Jack Young
Democratic

Elected Mayor of Baltimore

Brandon Scott
Democratic

The 2020 Baltimore mayoral election was held on November 3, 2020, concurrent with the general election. Baltimore City Council President Brandon Scott, the Democratic Party nominee, won a sizable victory over independent candidate Bob Wallace, Republican Party nominee Shannon Wright, and Working Class Party nominee David Harding.

Contents

Incumbent acting mayor Jack Young, who unsuccessfully ran for the Democratic Party nomination, had become mayor following the resignation of Catherine Pugh. Pugh's resignation had come after she was embroiled in a scandal.

Scott won the Democratic nomination in a crowded primary election that had 24 candidates listed on the ballot. Six of these candidates received in excess of 5 percent of the vote. With 29.6% of the vote, Scott's margin-of-victory over former mayor Sheila Dixon's second-place finish was 2.1%. The acting incumbent, Young, placed a weak fifth, with 6.2% of the vote. In addition to Scott, Dixon, and Young, the primary included the candidacies of businesswoman and former United States Department of the Treasury executive Mary J. Miller; former Maryland Deputy Attorney General Thiruvendran Vignarajah; and former county and police department press secretary/spokesperson T.J. Smith. State Senator Mary L. Washington also ran and was listed on the ballot, but had suspended her campaign before the election. In the Republican primary, Shannon Wright defeated six other candidates. The Democratic primary had 148,405 votes cast, while the Republican primary only had 5,608 votes.

The primary elections were originally scheduled to be held on April 28, 2020, with early voting running from April 16 to 23. [2] Due to the coronavirus pandemic, however, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan announced on March 17, 2020, that the primary election would be postponed to June 2. [3]

Background and candidates

Incumbent Mayor Jack Young, took office by default on May 2, 2019, following the resignation of Mayor Catherine Pugh. [4] In October 2019, Young announced that he would seek election to remain mayor in 2020. [5]

Notable events since the 2016 election include an escalation of crime following the death of Freddie Gray in April 2015, the removal of Confederate monuments and memorials in 2017, the 2018 rebranding and launch of the BaltimoreLink bus system following Governor Larry Hogan's cancellation of the Red Line, and the Healthy Holly scandal which resulted in Mayor Pugh's resignation in 2019.

Democratic primary

After the first campaign finance reporting date in mid-January 2019, Bernard C. "Jack" Young had $960,000 cash on hand, Thiru Vignarajah reported having about $840,000, Brandon Scott had nearly $430,000, Rikki Vaughn $218,000 cash on-hand, Mary Washington had more than $116,000, Sheila Dixon had nearly $89,000, Carlmichael "Stokey" Cannady had nearly $36,000, and T.J. Smith had about $22,000. [6]

Declared candidates

Withdrawn candidates

Declined to be candidates

Polling

Poll sourceDate(s)
administered		Sheila
Dixon		Brandon
Scott		Thiru
Vignarajah		Jack
Young		T.J.
Smith		Mary
Miller		Mary
Washington		Undecided
Gonzales Research [27] May 14, 201923%–16%19%–––24%
Baltimore Fox 45 [28] January 14, 202015.7%17.9%18.2%15%11%––12.2%
GQR Research/Sheila Dixon [29] [A] February 6–10, 202020%16%11%11%13%2%9%17%
Fox Gonzales [30] February 26, 202017%11%15%9%15%–––
WYPR, Baltimore Sun [31] March 4, 202016%10%10%6%9%7%–31%
WYPR, U of Baltimore Baltimore Sun [32] May 11–18, 202018%15%11%5%6%18%–22%
Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy [33] March 24, 202018%15%12%7%22%9%–15%

Results

Democratic primary results [34]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Brandon Scott 43,927 29.6
Democratic Sheila Dixon40,78227.5
Democratic Mary Miller23,19315.6
Democratic Thiru Vignarajah17,08011.5
Democratic Bernard C. "Jack" Young (incumbent)9,2566.2
Democratic T. J. Smith8,5935.8
Democratic Carlmichael Cannady2,4731.7
Democratic Mary Washington1,0280.7
Democratic Valerie Cunningham3390.2
Democratic Keith Scott3030.2
Democratic Yasaun Young1880.1
Democratic Ralph Johnson, Jr.1770.1
Democratic Yolanda Pulley1520.1
Democratic Lou Catelli1510.1
Democratic Dante Swinton1430.1
Democratic Michael Jenson1310.1
Democratic Brian Salsberry1290.1
Democratic Rikki Vaughn1160.1
Democratic Liri Fusha570.0
Democratic Terry McCready460.0
Democratic Sean Gresh450.0
Democratic James Jones II330.0
Democratic Erik Powery320.0
Democratic Frederick Ware-Newsome310.0
Total votes148,405 100.00

Republican primary

Declared candidates

Results

Republican primary results [34]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Shannon Wright1,63029.1%
Republican Catalina Byrd1,06819.0%
Republican William Herd75713.5%
Republican David Anthony Wiggins72913.0%
Republican Ivan Gonzalez67112.0%
Republican Zulieka Baysmore64111.4%
Republican Collins Otonna1122.0%
Total votes5,608 100%

Independent

Declared candidates

General election

Polling

Poll sourceDate(s)
administered		Sample
size [a] 		Margin
of error		Brandon
Scott (D)		Shannon
Wright (R)		Robert
Wallace (I)		Undecided
GSG/Brandon Scott [39] [B] September 4–6, 2020400 (LV)± 4.9%65%6%14%16% [b]

Results

2020 General Election [40]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Brandon Scott 164,661 70.49
Independent Bob Wallace47,27520.24
Republican Shannon Wright16,6647.13
Working Class David Harding3,9731.70
Write-in 1,0070.43
Total votes233,580 100

Notes

  1. ↑ Key:
    A – all adults
    RV – registered voters
    LV – likely voters
    V – unclear
  2. ↑ Includes "Refused"

Partisan clients

  1. ↑ Poll sponsored by Dixon's campaign
  2. ↑ Poll sponsored by Scott's campaign

References

  1. ↑ "Presidential General Election Baltimore City, Maryland November 3, 2020" (PDF).
  2. ↑ "Baltimore City Board of Elections 2020 Election Dates". December 8, 2015. Retrieved May 5, 2019.
  3. ↑ Dickstein, Ryan (March 17, 2020). "Hogan postpones primary election, announces more sweeping action against COVID-19". WMAR-TV . Retrieved March 17, 2020.
  4. ↑ Duncan, Ian (May 2, 2019). "Now officially Baltimore mayor, Jack Young inherits city's problems — particularly violent crime". The Baltimore Sun . Archived from the original on May 2, 2019. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
  5. 1 2 Broadwater, Luke (October 22, 2019). "Young says he's running in 2020 to remain Baltimore mayor, believes city is 'on the cusp of a renaissance'". The Baltimore Sun.
  6. ↑ Opilo, Emily; Richman, Talia (January 16, 2020). "Baltimore mayoral candidates raise $2.3M, signaling expensive and bitter fight ahead for crowded field". the Baltimore Sun. Retrieved January 27, 2020.
  7. ↑ Reed, Lillian (July 16, 2019). "Carlmichael 'Stokey' Cannady announces run for Baltimore mayor". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved August 27, 2019.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 "Baltimore City 2020 Presidential Primary Election Local Candidates List". elections.maryland.gov. May 30, 2020. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  9. ↑ Schuh, Mike (April 29, 2019). "Hampden's Unofficial 'Mayor' Lou Catelli Files For Baltimore City Mayor". WJZ-TV . Baltimore, Maryland. Retrieved May 5, 2019.
  10. ↑ Young, Blair (December 15, 2019). "Sheila Dixon enters Baltimore mayoral race". WBAL-TV . Retrieved December 16, 2019.
  11. ↑ "One Baltimore Mayor | Sean Gresh 2020 | Democratic Candidate for Mayor of One Baltimore City". onebaltimoremayor.com. Archived from the original on January 4, 2020. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
  12. ↑ "RALPH E. JOHNSON JR. FOR MAYOR OF BALTIMORE CITY". 79500.campaignpartner.net. Retrieved August 27, 2019.
  13. 1 2 "Tenth Candidate To Announce Run For Baltimore Mayor". WJZ-TV. August 15, 2019. Retrieved August 27, 2019.
  14. ↑ "James Hugh Jones II". Baltimore Sun Election Guide 2018. Retrieved August 27, 2019.
  15. ↑ Richman, Luke Broadwater, Talia (January 7, 2020). "Former T. Rowe Price exec Mary Miller enters Baltimore mayor's race, citing 'crying need for management' in city". baltimoresun.com. Retrieved January 7, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  16. ↑ Pulley, Yolanda [@Yoshie_pulley] (April 1, 2019). "Vote Yolanda Pulley for Mayor 2020. P.O.P" (Tweet) (in Spanish). Retrieved October 29, 2019– via Twitter.
  17. ↑ Broadwater, Luke (September 13, 2019). "City Council President Brandon Scott enters race for Baltimore mayor, heating up 2020 contest". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved September 13, 2019.
  18. ↑ Rector, Kevin (October 29, 2019). "Former police spokesman T.J. Smith promises change as Baltimore mayor that he says establishment can't deliver". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved October 29, 2019.
  19. ↑ "Who might run for Baltimore mayor in 2020". The Baltimore Sun. April 2, 2019. Retrieved July 4, 2019.
  20. ↑ Rodricks, Dan (April 10, 2019). "Rodricks: Vignarajah comes into the 2020 mayor's race wisely focused on crime and corruption". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved May 5, 2019.
  21. 1 2 Barker, Jeff (May 20, 2020). "Businessman Bob Wallace wants to shake up Baltimore mayor's race with independent run". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
  22. ↑ Richman, Talia (March 16, 2020). "State Sen. Mary Washington suspends campaign for Baltimore mayor to focus on coronavirus". The Baltimore Sun . Retrieved April 28, 2020.
  23. ↑ Carter, Jill P. [@jillpcarter] (October 29, 2019). "Today, I'm announcing my Exploratory Committee to continue the civil rights legacy of Maryland's 7th Congressional District. I'll be talking to my potential constituents about the issues. Reach out via DM if you'd like to support. Thank you! #CarterForCongress" (Tweet). Retrieved October 29, 2019– via Twitter.
  24. ↑ Wood, Pamela; Broadwater, Luke (October 24, 2019). "Miller says he'll step down as Maryland Senate president, Democrats pick Baltimore's Bill Ferguson to replace him". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved October 24, 2019.
  25. ↑ "Ben Jealous might seek Maryland governor's office again, rules out run for Baltimore mayor". The Baltimore Sun. September 5, 2019. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
  26. ↑ Broadwater, Luke (October 3, 2019). "Del. Nick Mosby says he's 'seriously' considering run for Baltimore City Council president". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved October 22, 2019.
  27. ↑ Gonzales Research
  28. ↑ Baltimore Fox 45
  29. ↑ GQR Research/Sheila Dixon
  30. ↑ Fox Gonzales
  31. ↑ WYPR, Baltimore Sun
  32. ↑ WYPR, U of Baltimore Baltimore Sun
  33. ↑ Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy
  34. 1 2 "Official 2020 Presidential Primary Election results for Baltimore City". elections.maryland.gov. Maryland State Board of Elections. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
  35. 1 2 3 Broadwater, Luke (August 27, 2019). "History is largely against them, but some Republicans are running to be mayor of Baltimore". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved August 27, 2019.
  36. ↑ "Baltimore City 2016 Presidential General Election Local Candidates List". elections.maryland.gov. Maryland Board of Elections. November 21, 2016. Retrieved January 27, 2020.
  37. ↑ "Collins Otonna". Ballotpedia. Retrieved January 27, 2020.
  38. 1 2 "Baltimore City 2020 Presidential General Election Local Candidates List". elections.maryland.gov. Maryland State Board of Elections. October 8, 2020. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  39. ↑ GSG/Brandon Scott
  40. ↑ "Presidential General Election Baltimore City, Maryland November 3, 2020 OFFICIAL RESULTS" (PDF). Baltimore City Board of Elections. 2020. Retrieved December 11, 2020.

Official campaign websites for mayoral candidates

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