2025 Oakland mayoral special election

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2025 Oakland mayoral special election
Flag of Oakland, California.svg
←  2024 (recall) April 15, 20252026 →
Turnout37.84%
Unofficial results [1]
  U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee - Official Portrait, 115th Congress (cropped).jpg Loren Taylor Oakland City Council (cropped).jpg
Candidate Barbara Lee Loren Taylor
First round47,122
50.06%		42,342
44.98%
Final round48,935
52.70%		43,929
47.30%
2025 Oakland mayoral special election first round results by precinct.svg
First round precinct results
Lee:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%
Taylor:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%
Simpson:     90–100%
Tie:     40–50%     50%     No votes
Mayor before election

Kevin Jenkins (interim)

Elected mayor

Barbara Lee

The 2025 Oakland mayoral special election was held on April 15, 2025, to elect the next mayor of Oakland, California, following the recall of mayor Sheng Thao in November 2024.

Contents

City Council president Nikki Fortunato Bas served as interim mayor until January 6, 2025, when she resigned to take a seat on the Alameda County Board of Supervisors. Fellow city councilor Kevin Jenkins then took over as interim mayor. The filing period for mayoral candidates lasted from December 23, 2024, to January 17, 2025. The winner of this election will complete Thao's current term and will be up for re-election in 2026. [2] The election used ranked-choice voting.

Multiple media and news organizations called the race for Barbara Lee on April 18, three days after the election. While Lee won most of the city, Loren Taylor dominated in the Oakland Hills, home to "Oakland’s whitest, wealthiest and most economically conservative enclaves" which also had the highest turnout rate in the election. [3] [4]

Candidates

Declared

Withdrawn

Declined

Endorsements

Barbara Lee
Federal officials
Statewide officials
State legislators
Municipal officials
Individuals
Labor unions
Organizations
Newspapers and publications
Political parties
Mindy Pechenuk
State legislators
Political parties
Eric Simpson
Political parties
Loren Taylor
State legislators
Municipal officials
Individuals
Newspapers and publications
Renia Webb
Individuals
Declined to endorse
Organizations

Results

After nine rounds of ranked-choice tabulation, Barbara Lee led Loren Taylor by over 5,000 votes. Taylor conceded the race on Saturday, April 19. [32]

2025 Oakland mayoral special election, unofficial results, May 2, 2025 [33]
CandidateRound 1Round 2Round 3Round 4Round 5Round 6Round 7Round 8Round 9
Votes
%		TransferVotes
%		TransferVotes
%		TransferVotes
%		TransferVotes
%		TransferVotes
%		TransferVotes
%		TransferVotes
%		TransferVotes
%
Barbara Lee 47,177
50.03%		+1747,194
50.07%		+6647,260
50.16%		+5947,319
50.25%		+24547,564
50.56%		+27647,840
50.92%		+8347,923
51.17%		+42448,347
51.75%		+58848,935
52.70%
Loren Taylor 42,393
44.95%		+4342,436
45.02%		+3242,468
45.07%		+6642,534
45.17%		+9442,628
45.32%		+26442,892
45.65%		+36643,258
46.19%		+29243,550
46.61%		+37943,929
47.30%
Tyron Jordan (withdrawn)1,001
1.06%		+181,019
1.08%		+231,042
1.11%		+221,064
1.13%		+531,117
1.19%		+461,163
1.24%		+1241,287
1.37%		+2451,532
1.64%		-1,532Eliminated
Renia Webb796
0.84%		+10806
0.86%		+23829
0.88%		+47876
0.93%		+53929
0.99%		+1061,035
1.10%		+1451,180
1.26%		-1,180Eliminated
Mindy Pechenuk834
0.88%		+8842
0.89%		+24866
0.92%		+32898
0.95%		+72970
1.03%		+521,022
1.09%		-1,022Eliminated
Suz Robinson755
0.80%		+14769
0.82%		+15784
0.83%		+35819
0.87%		+39858
0.91%		-858Eliminated
Eric Simpson588
0.62%		+5593
0.63%		+14607
0.64%		+51658
0.70%		-658Eliminated
Elizabeth Swaney 324
0.34%		+9333
0.35%		+32365
0.39%		-365Eliminated
Peter Liu253
0.27%		+13266
0.28%		-266Eliminated
Cristina Grappo184
0.20%		-184Eliminated
Total active ballots94,30594,25894,22194,16894,06693,95293,64893,42992,864
Exhausted ballots+4545+3378+48126+99225+110335+299634+214848+5301,378

References

  1. ↑ "City of Oakland Special Municipal Election - April 15, 2025 Unofficial Final Results". Official Election Site of Alameda County. Retrieved April 16, 2025.
  2. ↑ "Timeline for Selecting New Mayor". City of Oakland. December 4, 2024. Retrieved December 9, 2024.
  3. ↑ Shukla, Aseem; Ravani, Sarah; Devulapalli, Harsha (April 11, 2025). "Oakland neighborhoods are grouped into five voting 'clusters.' Which one are you in?". San Francisco Chronicle . Retrieved May 20, 2025.
  4. ↑ Fermoso, Jose; Romero, Roselyn (April 18, 2025). "Turnout was low for Oakland's mayoral election. What could change that?". The Oaklandside. Retrieved May 20, 2025.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Russell, Kiley (April 8, 2025). "Special election preview: The 10 candidates running to become next mayor of Oakland". Piedmont Exedra. Retrieved April 13, 2025.
  6. ↑ "Barbara Lee announces she's running for Oakland mayor". KTVU . January 8, 2025. Retrieved January 8, 2025.
  7. 1 2 Orenstein, Natalie; Wolfe, Eli; BondGraham, Darwin (November 13, 2024). "Who is running for Oakland mayor after Sheng Thao's recall?". The Oaklandside. Retrieved November 14, 2024.
  8. 1 2 Yu, Betty (January 17, 2025). "Former city councilmember Loren Taylor, former city staffer Renia Webb join Oakland mayoral race". KTVU . Retrieved January 18, 2025.
  9. ↑ Brinkley, Leslie; Howard, Lena (January 6, 2025). "Kevin Jenkins selected to serve as next interim mayor of Oakland; third mayor in 3 months". KABC-TV . Retrieved January 16, 2025. Jenkins said he will not run for Oakland mayor.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 Gans, Jared (January 8, 2025). "Lee announces candidacy for Oakland mayor". The Hill . Retrieved January 8, 2025.
  11. ↑ Wolfe, Eli; Orenstein, Natalie (January 8, 2025). "Oakland politicos react to Barbara Lee running for mayor". The Oaklandside . Retrieved January 8, 2025.
  12. 1 2 Fermoso, Jose; Orenstein, Natalie; Razilla, Azucena; Wolfe, Eli (April 15, 2025). "Taylor, Lee supporters hold out hope as grueling ballot count begins". The Oaklandside. Retrieved April 17, 2025.
  13. 1 2 3 Jones, Blake; Norman, Nicole; Gardiner, Dustin (January 16, 2025). "California Trump allies prep for deportation fight". Politico . Retrieved January 17, 2025. Lee's campaign announced Wednesday that she has the exclusive support of former Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf, as well as Assemblymembers Mia Bonta and Buffy Wicks
  14. ↑ Karlamangla, Soumya (April 13, 2025). "A Congressional Outsider Becomes the Establishment Pick for Oakland Mayor". The New York Times . Retrieved April 17, 2025.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 McBride, Ashley (April 11, 2025). "Who's endorsed Oakland mayoral candidates Barbara Lee and Loren Taylor?". The Oaklandside. Retrieved April 17, 2025.
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Hall, Alex (April 10, 2025). "Oakland Special Election: Who's Running, What's on the Ballot and How to Vote by Tuesday". KQED . Retrieved April 19, 2025.
  17. ↑ "IFPTE Local 21 Endorsements: 2025 Special Elections". IFPTE Local 21. Retrieved April 17, 2025.
  18. ↑ "NUHW Members Go All in for Barbara Lee". National Union of Healthcare Workers . March 24, 2025. Retrieved April 19, 2025.
  19. ↑ "SEIU 102 Endorses Congresswoman Barbara Lee for Oakland Mayor". January 17, 2025. Retrieved April 17, 2025.
  20. ↑ "EMILYs List Endorses Former U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee for Mayor of Oakland". EMILY's List . March 20, 2025. Retrieved April 17, 2025.
  21. ↑ "Endorsements: Oakland Mayoral Election". Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club . Retrieved April 17, 2025.
  22. ↑ "Our Revolution Endorses: Barbara Lee Mayor Oakland, CA". Our Revolution . April 9, 2025. Retrieved April 17, 2025.
  23. ↑ "Editorial: Lee for mayor, Wang for city council". Bay Area Reporter . March 26, 2025. Retrieved April 17, 2025.
  24. ↑ Editorial Board (March 22, 2025). "Editorial: As Oakland finances teeter, elect Barbara Lee for mayor, Charlene Wang for council". East Bay Times . Retrieved March 27, 2025.
  25. ↑ "Oakland Post Endorses Barbara Lee". Oakland Post . April 2, 2025. Retrieved April 17, 2025.
  26. ↑ Russell, Kiley (April 1, 2025). "Alameda Dems slam Loren Taylor to stop using logo in Oakland mayoral campaign". LocalNewsMatters Bay Area by Bay City News . Retrieved April 17, 2025.
  27. ↑ Wolfe, Eli; Orenstein, Natalie (March 24, 2025). "They recalled Oakland's mayor. Who are they backing now?". The Oaklandside. Retrieved April 17, 2025.
  28. ↑ Jones, Blake; Gardiner, Dustin; Norman, Nicole (March 27, 2025). "Resistance roars back at the border". Politico . Retrieved March 25, 2025.
  29. ↑ Orenstein, Natalie; Wolfe, Eli (March 24, 2025). "Will labor win again in Oakland's mayoral election?". The Oaklandside. Retrieved April 17, 2025. Pat Kernighan, a former District 2 councilmember who's endorsed Taylor for mayor
  30. ↑ "Endorsement: Barbara Lee is an icon, but Loren Taylor has the ideas to lead Oakland into the future". San Francisco Chronicle . April 7, 2025. Retrieved April 16, 2025.
  31. ↑ "2025 Endorsements: Oakland Special Election (April 15, 2025)". East Bay Young Democrats . Retrieved April 17, 2025.
  32. ↑ McBride, Ashley; BondGraham, Darwin (April 19, 2025). "Barbara Lee declares victory in Oakland mayor's race". The Oaklandside. Retrieved April 20, 2025.
  33. ↑ "Ranked Choice Voting Results: City of Oakland Special Municipal Election - April 15, 2025, Mayor, Short Term - Oakland (RCV)". Official Election Site of Alameda County. Retrieved April 16, 2025.
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