2018–19 Phoenix mayoral special election
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The 2018–19 Phoenix mayoral special election was held on November 6, 2018, to elect the new Mayor of Phoenix, Arizona. The election was officially nonpartisan; candidates ran on the same ballot. In the initial round of the election, since no candidate reached 50 percent plus one vote (as required by Phoenix City Charter), a runoff election was held on March 12, 2019, between the top two finishers.[1]
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November 6, 2018 (first round)
March 12, 2019 (runoff) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Runoff results by city council district Gallego: 50–60% 60–70% Valenzuela: 50–60% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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In October 2017, then incumbent mayor Greg Stanton announced that he was running for the United States Congress in Arizona's 9th district, which includes much of Phoenix.[2] Stanton resigned effective May 29, 2018, triggering a special election. The top two candidates from that election, Kate Gallego and Daniel Valenzuela, both fell short of the required 50 percent of the vote, therefore the mayoral race was decided by a final runoff election, which Gallego won.[3]
Phoenix councilwoman Thelda Williams served as temporary mayor until Gallego took office.[3]
Candidates
Declared
- Kate Gallego, former Phoenix City Councilwoman, District 8 (Democratic)[4]
- Moses Sanchez, Navy veteran, businessman, former local high school board member [5] (Republican)[6]
- Nicholas Sarwark, attorney and chair of the Libertarian National Committee (Libertarian)[7]
- Daniel Valenzuela, former Phoenix City Councilman, District 5 [8] (Democratic)[9]
Not qualified for ballot
Withdrew
Declined
Polling
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size |
Margin of error |
Kate Gallego |
Michael Nowakowski* |
Laura Pastor* |
Daniel Valenzuela |
None of the above |
Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rose Law Group[16] | October 12, 2017 | 517 | ± 5.3% | 8.9% | 12.4% | 14.9% | 17.6% | 22.1% | 24% |
- * Denotes candidates who did not enter the race.
Endorsements
U.S. Governors
- Bill Weld, former Governor of Massachusetts and Libertarian Party vice-presidential nominee in 2016[17]
US Representatives
- Barry Goldwater Jr., former U.S. Representative from California 1969–1983[18]
City Council people
- Clint Olivier, City Council representative for the City of Fresno's Seventh council district since 2010, Fresno City Council President from 2012–2013[19]
Individuals
Former Phoenix mayors
- Kenn Weise
Federal officials
- Ron Barber, former congressman
- Sam Coppersmith, former congressman
- Ruben Gallego, congressman; candidate's ex-husband
- Kirsten Gillibrand, U.S. Senator
- Ann Kirkpatrick, former congresswoman
- Harry Mitchell, former congressman
State officials
- Isela Blanc, State Representative
- Kelli Butler, State Representative
- Charlene Fernandez, State Representative and Arizona House Democratic Minority Leader
- Juan Mendez, State Senator
- Lisa Otondo, State Senator
- Martin Quezeda, State Senator
- Rebecca Rios, State Senator
- Athena Salman, State Representative
- Mary Rose Wilcox, former Maricopa County Supervisor
Organizations
- Arizona Building and Construction Trades Council
- Arizona Carpenters Union #1912
- Arizona List
- EMILY's List
- International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) #640
- Planned Parenthood of Arizona
- Sierra Club[20]
Members of City Council
- Sal DiCiccio, member of Phoenix City Council since 2009[19]
- Jim Waring, member of Phoenix City Council since 2011, former State Senator from 2003–2010[19]
Organizations
- Arizona Republican Party[19]
- Maricopa County Republican Party[19]
Former Phoenix mayors
- Phil Gordon
- Paul Johnson
- Skip Rimza
Current and former Phoenix City Councilmembers
- Maria Baier
- Claude Mattox
- Peggy Neely
- John Nelson
- Laura Pastor
- Deb Stark
Unions
- AFSCME
- Arizona Police Association
- Arizona-American Federation of Teachers
- Sheet Metal Workers Local 359
- Teamsters Local 104
- United Food and Commercial Workers, Local 99
Arizona state legislators
- Richard Andrade, Representative[21]
- Sean Bowie, Senator
- Mark Cardenas, former Representative
- Lupe Contreras, Senator
- Diego Espinoza, Representative
- Katie Hobbs, Secretary of State
- Tony Navarette, Senator
Results
| 1st round | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Kate Gallego | 171,035 | 44.5 | |
| Daniel Valenzuela | 100,998 | 26.3 | |
| Moses Sanchez | 71,121 | 18.5 | |
| Nicholas Sarwark | 40,218 | 10.5 | |
| Total votes | 384,454 | 100.0 | |
| Runoff election | |||
| Kate Gallego | 106,216 | 58.4% | |
| Daniel Valenzuela | 75,532 | 41.6% | |
| Total votes | 181,748 | 100.0 | |