Mayoral elections in Charleston, South Carolina

Mayoral elections in Charleston are held every four years to elect the mayor of Charleston, South Carolina.

All Charleston municipal elections are required to be non-partisan, but most candidates can be affiliated with political parties. Charleston uses a two-round system, where election runoffs are held if no candidate obtains the majority of the vote.

Elections before 2019

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2019

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2019 Charleston mayoral election
 
← 2015 November 5, 2019 (first round)
November 19, 2019 (runoff)
2023 →
   
Candidate John Tecklenburg Mike Seekings
First round 12,556
47.83%
8,998
34.27%
Runoff 12,530
61.19%
7,947
38.81%

 
Candidate Maurice Washington Gary White
First round 2116
8.06%
1,836
6.99%
Runoff Eliminated Eliminated

Mayor before election

John Tecklenburg
Democratic

Elected mayor

John Tecklenburg
Democratic

The 2019 Charleston mayoral election took place on November 5, 2019, to elect the mayor of Charleston, South Carolina. Incumbent Democratic Mayor John Tecklenburg ran for re-election to a second consecutive term. A runoff was held on November 29, 2019, since no candidate surpassed 50%. In the runoff, John Tecklenburg was easily re-elected.[1]

Results

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2019 Charleston mayoral election results (first round)[2]
Candidate Votes %
John Tecklenburg (Incumbent) 12,556 47.83
Mike Seekings 8,998 34.27
Maurice Washington 2,116 8.08
Gary White 1,836 6.99
Renee Orth 482 1.84
Sheri lrwin 235 0.90
Write-in 30 0.11
Not Assigned 30 0.11
Total votes 26,253 100.00
2019 Charleston mayoral election results (runoff)[3]
Candidate Votes %
John Tecklenburg (Incumbent) 12,530 61.19
Mike Seekings 7,947 38.81
Total votes 20,447 100.00

2023

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2023 Charleston mayoral election
 
← 2019 November 7, 2023 (first round)
November 23, 2023 (runoff)
2027 →
   
Candidate William Cogswell John Tecklenburg
First round 9,830
34.96%
9,000
32.01%
Runoff 13,950
51.03%
13,393
48.97%

 
Candidate Clay Nimoy Middleton Peter Shahid
First round 5,450
19.39%
2,367
8.42%
Runoff Eliminated Eliminated

Mayor before election

John Tecklenburg
Democratic

Elected mayor

William Cogswell
Republican

The 2023 Charleston mayoral election took place on November 7, 2023, to elect the mayor of Charleston, South Carolina. Incumbent Democratic Mayor John Tecklenburg ran for re-election to a third consecutive term. A runoff was held on November 23, 2023, since no candidate surpassed 50%. In the runoff Republican William Cogswell defeated Democratic Mayor John Tecklenburg. Cogswell became the first Republican mayor of Charleston since reconstruction when George Cunningham left office in 1877. Tecklenburg became the first mayor of Charleston to lose a re-election since 1959.[4][5][6]

The election was officially non-partisan, but several candidates were affiliated with political parties.

Results

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2023 Charleston mayoral election results (first round)[7]
Candidate Votes %
William Cogswell 9,830 34.96
John Tecklenburg (Incumbent) 9,000 32.01
Clay Nimoy Middleton 5,450 19.39
Peter Shahid 2,367 8.42
Mika Gadsden 1,057 3.76
Debra J Gammons 382 1.36
Write-in 28 0.10
Total votes 28,114 100.00
2023 Charleston mayoral election results (runoff)[8]
Candidate Votes %
William Cogswell 13,958 51.03
John Tecklenburg (Incumbent) 13,392 48.97
Total votes 27,350 100.00

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Beese, Wilson (November 19, 2019). "Tecklenburg wins reelection in Charleston mayoral race after Seekings concedes". WCIV. Retrieved February 24, 2024.
  2. ^ "First round" (PDF).
  3. ^ "Runoff". November 6, 2019.
  4. ^ Press, Associated (November 22, 2023). "South Carolina: Charleston elects first Republican mayor since Reconstruction". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved February 23, 2024.
  5. ^ Bogel-Burroughs, Nicholas (November 23, 2023). "Charleston Elects Republican Mayor for First Time Since 1870s". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 23, 2024.
  6. ^ Weber, Ian Kayanja, Lauren Lennon & Claire (November 21, 2023). "Nov. 21 runoff: Unofficial results show Cogswell elected mayor of Charleston". WCIV. Retrieved February 23, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ "Election Night Reporting". www.enr-scvotes.org. Retrieved February 24, 2024.
  8. ^ "Election Night Reporting". www.enr-scvotes.org. Retrieved February 23, 2024.