2025 Oakland mayoral special election
Local election in California, US
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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.
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April 15, 2025
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| Turnout | 37.90%[1] | ||||||||||||
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 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 | |||||||||||||
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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 carried the majority of the city’s neighborhoods, Loren Taylor outperformed in the Oakland Hills, which the San Francisco Chronicle described as "Oakland’s whitest, wealthiest and most economically conservative” neighborhoods, and which also had the highest turnout rate in the election.[3][4]
Candidates
Declared
- President Cristina Grappo, provider and candidate for U.S. Senate in 2016[5]
- Barbara Lee, former U.S. Representative from California's 12th congressional district and candidate for U.S. Senate in 2024[6]
- Peter Liu, entrepreneur and perennial candidate[5]
- Mindy Pechenuk, economist and perennial candidate[7]
- Suz Robinson, vice president of the Bay Area Council[5]
- Eric Simpson, factory worker[5]
- Elizabeth Swaney, former finance director for Spinsters of San Francisco and candidate for governor in 2003[5]
- Loren Taylor, former city councilor for the 6th district and runner-up for mayor in 2022[8]
- Renia Webb, former chief of staff for then-mayor Sheng Thao[8]
Withdrawn
Declined
- Kevin Jenkins, interim mayor[9] (endorsed Lee)[10]
- Janani Ramachandran, city councilor for the 4th district[7]
Endorsements
Barbara Lee
- Federal officials
- Lateefah Simon, U.S. Representative from California's 12th congressional district (2025–present)[11]
- Statewide officials
- Jerry Brown, former governor of California (1975–1983, 2011–2019) and former mayor of Oakland (1999–2007)[10]
- State legislators
- Jesse Arreguín, state senator from the 7th district (2024–present) and former mayor of Berkeley (2016–2024)[12]
- Mia Bonta, state assemblymember from the 18th district (2021–present)[13]
- Buffy Wicks, state assemblymember from the 14th district (2018–present)[13]
- Municipal officials
- 7/8 members of the Oakland City Council[14]
- 5/7 members of the Oakland Unified Board of Education[15]
- Nikki Fortunato Bas, Alameda County Supervisor from the 5th district (2025–present) and former acting mayor of Oakland (2024–2025)[15]
- Elihu Harris, former mayor of Oakland (1991–1999)[10]
- Kevin Jenkins, acting mayor of Oakland (2025–present)[10]
- Jean Quan, former mayor of Oakland (2011–2015)[10]
- Libby Schaaf, former mayor of Oakland (2015–2023)[13]
- Individuals
- W. Kamau Bell, stand-up comic and television host[15]
- E-40, rapper and actor[15]
- Mistah F.A.B, rapper[15]
- Corrina Gould, indigenous activist[15]
- Sheryl Lee Ralph, actress and singer[15]
- Labor unions
- Alameda AFL-CIO[15]
- Building & Construction Trades Council of Alameda County[15]
- International Association of Fire Fighters Local 155[16]
- International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers Local 21[17]
- National Union of Healthcare Workers[18]
- Oakland Education Association[15]
- Service Employees International Union Local 102[19]
- Organizations
- Newspapers and publications
- Political parties
Mindy Pechenuk
- State legislators
- Leticia Castillo, state assemblymember from the 58th district (2024–present)[16]
- Mike Morrell, former state senator from the 23rd district (2014–2020)[16]
- Political parties
- Alameda County Republican Party[16]
Eric Simpson
- Political parties
Loren Taylor
- State legislators
- Don Perata, former state senator from the 9th district (1998–2008)[15]
- Municipal officials
- LeRonne Armstrong, former Chief of the Oakland Police Department (2021–2023)[16]
- John Bauters, former mayor of Emeryville (2017–2018, 2021–2023)[15]
- Ignacio De La Fuente, former vice mayor of Oakland (2009–2011) from the 5th district (1992–2013) and former mayoral candidate in 1998, 2006, and 2022[12]
- Brenda Harbin-Forte, former Alameda County Superior Court judge (1998–2019)[27]
- Matt Mahan, mayor of San Jose (2023–present)[28]
- Patricia Kernighan, former Oakland City Councilor from the 2nd district (2005–2014)[29]
- Individuals
- Garry Tan, CEO of Y Combinator[15]
- Newspapers and publications
Renia Webb
- Individuals
- Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action[16]
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, May 2, 2025[33] | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Round 4 | Round 5 | Round 6 | Round 7 | Round 8 | Round 9 | |||||||||
| Votes % |
Transfer | Votes % |
Transfer | Votes % |
Transfer | Votes % |
Transfer | Votes % |
Transfer | Votes % |
Transfer | Votes % |
Transfer | Votes % |
Transfer | Votes % | ||
| Barbara Lee | 47,177 50.03% |
+17 | 47,194 50.07% |
+66 | 47,260 50.16% |
+59 | 47,319 50.25% |
+245 | 47,564 50.56% |
+276 | 47,840 50.92% |
+83 | 47,923 51.17% |
+424 | 48,347 51.75% |
+588 | 48,935 52.70% | |
| Loren Taylor | 42,393 44.95% |
+43 | 42,436 45.02% |
+32 | 42,468 45.07% |
+66 | 42,534 45.17% |
+94 | 42,628 45.32% |
+264 | 42,892 45.65% |
+366 | 43,258 46.19% |
+292 | 43,550 46.61% |
+379 | 43,929 47.30% | |
| Tyron Jordan (withdrawn) | 1,001 1.06% |
+18 | 1,019 1.08% |
+23 | 1,042 1.11% |
+22 | 1,064 1.13% |
+53 | 1,117 1.19% |
+46 | 1,163 1.24% |
+124 | 1,287 1.37% |
+245 | 1,532 1.64% |
-1,532 | Eliminated | |
| Renia Webb | 796 0.84% |
+10 | 806 0.86% |
+23 | 829 0.88% |
+47 | 876 0.93% |
+53 | 929 0.99% |
+106 | 1,035 1.10% |
+145 | 1,180 1.26% |
-1,180 | Eliminated | |||
| Mindy Pechenuk | 834 0.88% |
+8 | 842 0.89% |
+24 | 866 0.92% |
+32 | 898 0.95% |
+72 | 970 1.03% |
+52 | 1,022 1.09% |
-1,022 | Eliminated | |||||
| Suz Robinson | 755 0.80% |
+14 | 769 0.82% |
+15 | 784 0.83% |
+35 | 819 0.87% |
+39 | 858 0.91% |
-858 | Eliminated | |||||||
| Eric Simpson | 588 0.62% |
+5 | 593 0.63% |
+14 | 607 0.64% |
+51 | 658 0.70% |
-658 | Eliminated | |||||||||
| Elizabeth Swaney | 324 0.34% |
+9 | 333 0.35% |
+32 | 365 0.39% |
-365 | Eliminated | |||||||||||
| Peter Liu | 253 0.27% |
+13 | 266 0.28% |
-266 | Eliminated | |||||||||||||
| Cristina Grappo | 184 0.20% |
-184 | Eliminated | |||||||||||||||
| Total active ballots | 94,305 | 94,258 | 94,221 | 94,168 | 94,066 | 93,952 | 93,648 | 93,429 | 92,864 | |||||||||
| Exhausted ballots | +45 | 45 | +33 | 78 | +48 | 126 | +99 | 225 | +110 | 335 | +299 | 634 | +214 | 848 | +530 | 1,378 | ||