2023 Jacksonville mayoral election

Campaign

The two leading Republicans were backed by different factions of the business community; Daniel Davis aligned himself with the network of developers, CEOs, and elected officials who backed incumbent mayor Lenny Curry and who traditionally hold great influence over city elections, while LeAnna Cumber was backed by a more conservative group of outsiders.^[9] Florida Politics commented that Cumber had the support of "various anti-Lenny Curry Republicans" in local government.^[10] Cumber heavily criticized Curry's effort to raise the Jacksonville gas tax, while Davis avoided taking positions on specific city issues and instead made broad appeals for unity.^[9] Al Ferraro was considered to have the most conservative platform of any candidate but lacked the fundraising and endorsements of Cumber and Davis, though his position improved over time due to well-received debate performances and improving polling numbers.^[11]

The campaign between Cumber and Davis was heated, with Davis running ads labeling Cumber a "fake conservative" because she donated to Democratic politicians in the past and Cumber running ads claiming that Davis "voted to make it easier for criminals to cover up sexual assaults against children," criticizing him for voting to let DACA recipients get driver's licenses, and accusing him of contributing to rising crime rates in Jacksonville.^{[12][13][14][15]} Both candidates also ran ads accusing each other of supporting the privatization of JEA, the city's publicly owned electric utility, though they each denied that they would sell it if elected mayor.^[16] In February 2023, the city council began investigating ties between Cumber's husband and a company that attempted to buy JEA. Cumber claimed the probe was orchestrated by allies of Davis to help him win the mayoral election.^[17]

In comparison, the two Democrats largely avoided criticizing each other and both ran on their own strengths, with Donna Deegan running a positive TV ad focused on her life story.^[18] Audrey Gibson is a longtime fixture of Jacksonville politics and had a reputation for working across the aisle during her time in the state legislature.^[9] Additionally, she was considered to have an advantage because 55% of registered Democrats in Jacksonville are black and she has a history of performing well in heavily African-American areas.^[19] However, Deegan has a great deal of name recognition from her time as a television journalist and the frequent public appearances she made during her mayoral bid. She prioritized small donors and was the only candidate to qualify for the ballot via petition rather than paying a fee. Deegan raised significantly more than Gibson, though her fundraising was still considered lackluster in comparison to Cumber and Davis.^[9]

Candidates

Fundraising

As of December, Cumber and Davis held a wide lead in fundraising; Davis led with $4.5 million on hand while Cumber had $2.8 million. Al Ferraro lagged behind with $240,000. Among the Democrats, Donna Deegan had the most cash on hand with $590,000, while Audrey Gibson followed with $250,000.^[32]

Endorsements

In March 2023, flyers were distributed at polling places in northwest Jacksonville that listed candidates purportedly endorsed by former U.S. Representative Corrine Brown in the Jacksonville primary elections. The flyer recommended a Democratic candidate in every race except the mayoral race, where it recommended Republican LeAnna Cumber. Brown, a Democrat, claimed the flyers were fake and said that she had not endorsed any candidates yet, though she said there were "very qualified Democrats in the race for Mayor."^[33]

Polling

Results

The Republican candidates combined for roughly 51% of the vote, while the Democrats combined for 48%. This was the highest first-round combined vote share for Democrats in a Jacksonville mayoral race since the 1995 election.^{[60][better source needed]}

Endorsements

Endorsements in bold were made after the first round.

Polling

Results