Mayoral elections in New Haven, Connecticut

Since the 1870s, mayoral elections have been held every two years to elect the mayor of New Haven, Connecticut. ^[1]

2013

2013 New Haven, Connecticut mayoral election

←  2011 November 5, 2013 2015  →

Candidate Toni Harp Justin Elicker Party Democratic Independent Popular vote 11,362 9,417 Percentage 54.68% 45.32%

Mayor before election John DeStefano Jr. Democratic Elected mayor Toni Harp Democratic

The 2013 New Haven, Connecticut mayoral election was held on November 5, 2013. It saw the reelection of Democrat Toni Harp, who became the city's first female mayor. ^[2]

Ten-term incumbent mayor John DeStefano Jr. did not run for reelection. ^[2]

Democratic primary

The Democratic primary was held on September 10. ^[3]

Voter turnout in the primary was estimated at 29%. ^[2]

Candidates that were on the ballot were state senator Toni Harp, political newcomer Justin Elicker, economic development administrator Henry Fernandez, and Hillhouse High School principal Kermit Carolina. ^[2] Candidates that had been running for the nomination, but withdrew before the primary, were Matthew Nemerson, state representative Gary Holder-Winfield and Sundiata Keitazulu. ^[2]

2013 New Haven, Connecticut mayoral Democratic primary election results ^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Toni Harp (incumbent)	7,327	49.77%
	Democratic	Justin Elicker	3,417	23.21%
	Democratic	Henry Fernandez	2,784	18.91%
	Democratic	Kermit Carolina	1,195	8.12%
Total votes			14,723

General election

After losing to Harp in the Democratic primary, Elicker ran against her again in the general election as an independent candidate.

2013 New Haven, Connecticut mayoral general election results ^{[5] [6]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Toni Harp (incumbent)	11,362	54.68%
	Independent	Justin Elicker	9,417	45.32%
Total votes			20,779

2015

2015 New Haven, Connecticut mayoral election

←  2013 November 3, 2015 [7] 2017  →

Candidate Toni Harp Ronald Smith Party Democratic Independent Popular vote 10,784 1,070 Percentage 88.83% 8.81%

Mayor before election Toni Harp Democratic Elected mayor Toni Harp Democratic

The 2015 New Haven, Connecticut mayoral election was held on November 3, 2015. It saw the reelection of Democratic incumbent Toni Harp to a second term.

Voter turnout was less than 20%. ^[8]

Harp won all of the city's 30 wards. ^[8]

General election results ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Toni Harp (incumbent)	10,784	88.83%
	Independent	Ronald Smith	1,070	8.81%
	Independent	Sundiata Keitazulu	269	2.22%
	Independent	Roger Uihlein (write-in)	17	0.14%
Total votes			12,140

2017

2017 New Haven, Connecticut election

←  2015 November 8, 2017 2019  →

Candidate Toni Harp Marcus Paca Sarah Ganong Party Democratic Independent Working Families Popular vote 8,807 1,672 880 Percentage 77.53% 14.72% 7.75%

Mayor before election Toni Harp Democratic Elected mayor Toni Harp Democratic

The 2017 New Haven, Connecticut mayoral election was held on November 8, 2017. It saw the reelection of Democratic incumbent Toni Harp to a third term.

Democratic primary

The Democratic primary was held on September 12. ^[9] Voter turnout was roughly 20%. ^[9]

Democratic primary election results ^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Toni Harp (incumbent)	5,788	74.54
	Democratic	Marcus Paca	1,977	25.46
Total votes			7,765

General election

Paca, who had lost the Democratic primary to Harp, ran as an independent. While he remained on the ballot, ^[6] and ultimately placed second, ^[10] he had withdrawn before the election. ^[6]

Harp won all of the city's 30 wards. ^[10]

General election results ^{[10] [6]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Toni Harp (incumbent)	8,807	77.53
	Independent	Marcus Paca	1,672	14.72
	Working Families	Sarah Ganong	880	7.75
Total votes			11,359

2019

2019 New Haven, Connecticut election

←  2017 November 5, 2019 2021  →

Candidate Justin Elicker Toni Harp Party Democratic Working Families Popular vote 12,296 5,034 Percentage 68.89% 28.20%

Mayor before election Toni Harp Democratic Elected mayor Justin Elicker Democratic

The 2019 New Haven, Connecticut, mayoral election was held on November 5, 2019. Third-term incumbent mayor Toni Harp was defeated by Justin Elicker in both the Democratic primary and the general election. Ellicker and Harp had previously faced each other in the 2013 mayoral election.

Democratic primary

The Democratic primary was held on September 10.

Democratic primary election results ^[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Justin Elicker	7,198	58.29
	Democratic	Toni Harp (incumbent)	5,150	41.71

General election

General election results ^{[12] [13]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Justin Elicker	12,296	68.89
	Working Families	Toni Harp (incumbent)	5,034	28.20
	Write-in	Seth L. Poole	98	0.55
	Write-in	Roger Uihlein	2	0.01
Total votes			17,849

Results by ward

Results by sard [13]
Ward	Elicker (D)		Harp (WF)		Write-in/other		Total
	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%
1	351	79.6%	61	13.83%	29	6.58%	441
2	212	61.1%	126	36.31%	9	2.59%	347
3	179	47.9%	166	44.39%	29	7.75%	374
4	175	52.9%	146	44.11%	10	3.02%	331
5	241	61.5%	129	32.91%	22	5.61%	392
6	358	63.7%	157	27.94%	47	8.36%	562
7	576	81.8%	114	16.19%	14	1.99%	704
8	467	74.7%	132	21.12%	26	4.16%	625
9	458	87.7%	62	11.88%	2	0.38%	522
10	649	86.1%	93	12.33%	12	1.59%	754
11	495	61.5%	274	34.04%	36	4.47%	805
12	240	63.7%	131	34.75%	6	1.59%	377
13	451	72.7%	148	23.87%	21	3.39%	620
14	372	73.4%	122	24.06%	13	2.56%	507
15	279	75.8%	82	22.28%	7	1.9%	368
16	134	53.4%	107	42.63%	10	3.98%	251
17	488	86.4%	70	12.39%	7	1.24%	565
18	1,094	92.5%	79	6.68%	10	0.85%	1,183
19	598	84.6%	99	14.%	10	1.41%	707
20	257	39.8%	377	58.45%	11	1.71%	645
21	372	58.7%	243	38.33%	19	3.0%	634
22	272	57.5%	179	37.84%	22	4.65%	473
23	138	38.1%	212	58.56%	12	3.31%	362
24	287	55.0%	206	39.46%	29	5.56%	522
25	1,264	84.1%	214	14.24%	25	1.66%	1,503
26	811	69.1%	348	29.64%	15	1.28%	1,174
27	346	60.6%	205	35.9%	20	3.5%	571
28	335	53.9%	273	43.96%	13	2.09%	621
29	239	49.9%	222	46.35%	18	3.76%	479
30	158	36.7%	257	59.77%	15	3.49%	430

2021

2021 New Haven, Connecticut mayoral election

←  2019 November 2, 2021 2023  →

Candidate Justin Elicker John Carlson Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 10,767 1,727 Percentage 85.05% 13.64%

Mayor before election Justin Elicker Democratic Elected mayor Justin Elicker Democratic

The 2021 New Haven, Connecticut, mayoral election was held on November 2, 2021. Incumbent mayor Justin Elicker won reelection. ^[14]

Democratic primary

Justin Elicker was renominated. ^{[15] [16] [17]}

In late July, three developments occurred, which left Elicker without an opponent in the primary. Karen DuBois-Walton, the CEO of Elm City Communities (the city's public housing authority), who had been running a campaign for the nomination, withdrew from the race. ^[18] Mayce Torres, a two-time aldermanic candidate, who was running in the Democratic primary, switched over to the Republican primary. ^{[19] [20]} Elena Tej Grewel, who had previously formed an exploratory committee for a prospective run, announced that she would not be running. ^[21] Before DuBois-Walton's withdrawal, it had been anticipated the primary contest between Ellicker and her would have been competitive. ^[22]

Republican primary

In July 2021, Mayce Torres, who had previously been running for the Democratic nomination, announced that she would instead be running for the Republican nomination. ^[20]

2023

2023 New Haven, Connecticut mayoral election

←  2021 November 7, 2023 2025 →
Turnout	24.5%
Candidate Justin Elicker Tom Goldenberg Party Democratic Republican Alliance Working Families Independent Party Popular vote 9,755 2,210 Percentage 79.7% 18.1%
Mayor before election Justin Elicker Democratic Elected mayor Justin Elicker Democratic

The 2023 New Haven, Connecticut, mayoral election was held on November 7, 2023. Incumbent mayor Justin Elicker won re-election to a third term in office, winning nearly 80% of the vote and every ward.

Democratic primary

The Democratic primary was held on September 12. Incumbent mayor Justin Elicker defeated challenger Liam Brennan, winning all 30 of the city's wards. ^[23]

Declared

• Shafiq Abdussabur, former Beaver Hills alderman ^[24] (failed to qualify for Democratic primary but qualified for general election ballot as an independent) ^[25]
• Liam Brennan, Hartford Inspector General and former assistant U.S. Attorney ^[26]
• Justin Elicker, incumbent mayor ^[27]
• Tom Goldenberg, management consultant ^[28] (failed to qualify for Democratic primary ballot but received the Republican and Independent Party of Connecticut nominations) ^[29]

Democratic primary election results ^[23]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Justin Elicker (incumbent)	5,503	70.71
	Democratic	Liam Brennan	2,280	29.29

General election

The general election took place on November 7. Incumbent mayor Justin Elicker defeated Republican Tom Goldenberg, winning all 30 of the city's wards. This election was concurrent with a referendum on an amendment to the New Haven Charter, which would extend the terms of the mayor and members of the Board of Alders to four years from two, starting with the 2027 election. The referendum passed by a nearly two-thirds majority. ^[30]

References

1. Robert A. Dahl (1961), Who Governs?: Democracy and Power in an American City . Yale University Press. ISBN   0-300-00051-0, ISBN   978-0-300-00051-1. Page 12.
2. O'Leary, Martin (November 5, 2013). "Toni Harp winner in New Haven mayoral race". New Haven Register . Retrieved September 25, 2019.
3. Bass, Paul; Bailey, Melissa (September 10, 2013). "Harp Score Decisive Victory". New Haven Independent . Retrieved September 25, 2019.
4. "Election Day Results". New Haven Independent. September 20, 2013. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
5. "Election Results". New Haven Independent. November 5, 2013. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
6. Scinto, Rich (November 1, 2017). "New Haven Election 2017 Results: Unofficial Mayor, Probate Judge". Patch. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
7. "PRESCRIBED FORM FOR RETURN OF VOTES CAST AT A MUNICIPAL ELECTION" (PDF). Connecticut Secretary of State. November 2015. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
8. Swaby, Aliyya (November 4, 2015). "Election Results 2015". New Haven Independent . Retrieved September 24, 2019.
9. Hernandez, Esteban L. (September 13, 2017). "Final results for 2017 New Haven's primary for mayor, alders". New Haven Register . Retrieved September 24, 2019.
10. "Official 2017 Election Results". New Haven Independent. November 14, 2017. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
11. "ELECTION CENTER". Connecticut Secretary of State. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
12. "STATE OF CONNECTICUT OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF THE STATE". State of Connecticut Office of the Secretary of State. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
13. "2019 Mayoral Election Results". New Haven Independent. Retrieved November 12, 2019.
14. Bass, Paul; Breen, Thomas (January 21, 2021). "Elicker Launches Reelection Campaign | New Haven Independent". www.newhavenindependent.org. New Haven Independent. Retrieved April 30, 2021.
15. Breen, Thomas (April 12, 2021). "Mayor Race, Round 1: Who Gave To Whom | New Haven Independent". www.newhavenindependent.org. New Haven Independent. Retrieved April 30, 2021.
16. Zaretsky, Mark (April 7, 2021). "New Haven mayor's race: DuBois-Walton raises more than half of Elicker war chest to date". New Haven Register. Retrieved April 30, 2021.
17. Tucker-Smith, Owen (April 7, 2021). "DuBois-Walton, Elicker rack up donations as mayoral primary approaches". yaledailynews.com. Yale Daily News. Retrieved April 30, 2021.
18. Breen, Thomas (July 27, 2021). "DuBois-Walton Drops Out Of Mayoral Race | New Haven Independent". www.newhavenindependent.org. New Haven Independent. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
19. Zaretsky, Mark (May 8, 2021). "New Haven Democratic mayoral primary could see some new faces". New Haven Register. Retrieved July 4, 2021.
20. Breen, Thomas (July 29, 2021). "Democratic Mayoral Challenger Becomes A Republican | New Haven Independent". www.newhavenindependent.org. New Haven Independent. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
21. Zaretsky, Mark (July 27, 2021). "Grewal won't run for New Haven mayor, will head East Rock team". New Haven Register. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
22. Kainz, Natalie; Yu, Isaac (July 28, 2021). "Mixed Reactions To Mayoral Race Shakeup | New Haven Independent". www.newhavenindependent.org. New Haven Independent. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
23. "ELECTION CENTER". Connecticut Secretary of State. Retrieved September 15, 2023.
24. "Democrat Shafiq Abdussabur plans to enter New Haven mayoral race".
25. "Mayoral candidate fails to make Democratic Primary ballot after lawsuit dismissed in court". September 5, 2023.
26. "Former federal prosecutor Liam Brennan announces run for New Haven mayor".
27. "New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker Runs for Re-Election".
28. "New Haven mayoral race may begin with a primary runoff".
29. "Brennan Makes Ballot; Abdussabur, Goldenberg… | New Haven Independent". Archived from the original on August 17, 2023. Retrieved July 1, 2025.
30. "Elicker, Charter Changes Sail To Victory". New Haven Independent. Retrieved November 8, 2023.