2015 Philadelphia mayoral election
The 2015 Philadelphia mayoral election was held on November 3, 2015, to elect the Mayor of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, concurrently with various other state and local elections. Heavily favored Democratic party candidate Jim Kenney won.[2]
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Turnout | 21.84%[1] | ||||||||||||||||
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Results by ward Kenney: 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% | |||||||||||||||||
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Elections in Pennsylvania |
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Government |
Incumbent Democratic party Mayor Michael Nutter could not run for re-election to a third consecutive term due to term limits in the city's home rule charter.[3] Registered Democrats hold a formidable 7-to-1 ratio over registered Republicans in Philadelphia, giving Democratic candidates a distinct advantage in citywide elections.[4]
The mayoral primary elections were held on May 19, 2015. 27% of the city's registered voters voted in the primaries.[5] Democrats nominated Jim Kenney, a member of the Philadelphia City Council, as their party's nominee. Kenney won the primary in a landslide with 55.83% of the vote, defeating a crowded field of five other Democratic candidates, including Anthony H. Williams and former District Attorney Lynn Abraham.[6] Republican Melissa Murray Bailey, a business executive, ran unopposed for the Republican nomination.[6] Had she been elected, Bailey would have become Philadelphia's first female mayor, as well as the city's first Republican mayor in more than 60 years.[4]
Democratic primary
Declared
- Lynne Abraham, former District Attorney of Philadelphia[7]
- Nelson Diaz, former City Solicitor and former Common Pleas judge[8][9]
- James F. Kenney, former Philadelphia City Councilman[10][11][12][13]
- Doug Oliver, Vice President of Marketing and Corporate Communications at Philadelphia Gas Works and former press secretary for Mayor Nutter[14]
- Milton Street, former State Senator and candidate for Mayor in 2011[15][16]
- Anthony H. Williams, Minority Whip of the Pennsylvania State Senate and candidate for governor in 2010[10][17][18]
Withdrew
Declined
- Alan Butkovitz, Philadelphia City Controller[10][28]
- Darrell L. Clarke, Philadelphia City Council President[29]
- Dwight E. Evans, State Representative, candidate for lieutenant governor in 1986, candidate for Governor in 1994 and candidate for Mayor in 1999 and 2007[30]
- Bill Green, former Philadelphia City Councilman and chair of the Philadelphia School Reform Commission[10][31]
- Renée Cardwell Hughes, Chief Executive Officer of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Red Cross and former Common Pleas judge[32]
- Kevin R. Johnson, Philadelphia clergyman and pastor of Bright Hope Baptist Church[33]
- Sam Katz, businessman, public finance executive and Republican nominee for Mayor in 1999 and 2003[34][35]
- Tom Knox, businessman, candidate for Mayor in 2007 and candidate for Governor in 2010[36]
- Alba Martinez, former city Human Services Commissioner and former CEO of the United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania[37]
- Richard Negrin, Philadelphia Managing Director[38]
- Frank L. Rizzo, Jr., former Republican Philadelphia City Councilman (running for the City Council)[39]
- Jonathan Saidel, former Philadelphia City Controller[40][41][42]
- R. Seth Williams, District Attorney of Philadelphia[10][43]
Polling
Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size |
Margin of error |
Alan Butkovitz |
Darrell Clarke |
James Kenney |
Frank Rizzo |
Milton Street |
Ken Trujillo |
Anthony Williams |
Refused |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Public Policy Polling* | May 27–28, 2014 | 916 | ± 3.2% | 12% | 14% | 7% | 10% | 4% | 1% | 2% | 41% |
22% | — | — | — | — | — | 11% | 67% |
- * Internal poll for the Alan Butkovitz campaign
Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size |
Margin of error |
James Kenney |
Anthony Williams |
Lynne Abraham |
Undecided | Other |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
GBA Strategies* | April 9–15, 2015 | 587 | ± 4.1% | 26% | 25% | 22% | 18% | 9% |
- * AFSCME poll for the James Kenney campaign.
Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size |
Margin of error |
James Kenney |
Anthony Williams |
Lynne Abraham |
Milton Street |
Nelson Diaz |
Doug Oliver |
Undecided | Other |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Public Policy Polling* | released April 6, 2015 | 644 | ± 3.7% | 26% | 25% | 20% | 4% | 3% | 3% | 19% |
- * Public Policy Polling poll for the James Kenney campaign.
Results
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | James F. Kenney | 129,093 | 55.83 | |
Democratic | Anthony H. Williams | 60,463 | 26.13 | |
Democratic | Lynne Abraham | 19,430 | 8.40 | |
Democratic | Doug Oliver | 9,823 | 4.24 | |
Democratic | Nelson Diaz | 8,588 | 3.71 | |
Democratic | Milton Street | 3,899 | 1.68 | |
Democratic | Write-ins | 22 | 0.01 | |
Total votes | 231,418 | 100 |
Republican primary
Declined
- Ronald D. Castille, former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, former District Attorney of Philadelphia and candidate for Mayor in 1991[49]
- Sean Clark, nonprofit executive[46][47]
- Allan Domb, real estate developer and President of the Greater Philadelphia Association of Realtors[50][48]
- Rhashea Harmon, attorney and nominee for the State Senate in 2010 (running as an Independent)[47][48]
- Kelvin Jeremiah, President & CEO of the Philadelphia Housing Authority[51][48]
- Sam Katz, businessman, public finance executive and Republican nominee for Mayor in 1999 and 2003[34]
- Elmer Money, candidate for City Council in 2011[40][46][47][48]
- Doug Oliver, Vice President of Marketing and Corporate Communications at Philadelphia Gas Works and former press secretary for Mayor Nutter (running as a Democrat)[52]
- Dana Spain, businesswoman and philanthropist[53][54][45]
Results
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Melissa Murray Bailey | 12,486 | 99.69 | |
Republican | Write-ins | 39 | 0.31 | |
Total votes | 12,525 | 100 |
Independent
General election
Candidates
- Melissa Murray Bailey – Republican Party
- James Foster – Independent
- Osborne Hart – Socialist Workers Party
- Jim Kenney – Democratic Party
- Boris Kindij – Independent
Results
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Jim Kenney | 203,730 | 85.36 | |
Republican | Melissa Murray Bailey | 31,563 | 13.23 | |
Independent | James Foster | 1,713 | 0.72 | |
Socialist Workers | Osborne Hart | 1,234 | 0.52 | |
Independent | Boris Kindij | 321 | 0.13 | |
Write-in | 103 | 0.04 | ||
Total votes | 238,664 | 100.00 | ||
Democratic hold | ||||
References
- "2015 General". Office of the Philadelphia City Commissioners.
- "Jim Kenney elected mayor of Philadelphia". 6abc.com. November 4, 2015. Retrieved January 5, 2016.
- "Committee of Seventy – November 3, 2015 General Election". Seventy.org. November 3, 2015. Archived from the original on January 8, 2016. Retrieved January 5, 2016.
- Rudeman, Wendy (March 30, 2015). "The Interview: Melissa Murray Bailey, Philly's only Republican mayoral candidate". Philadelphia Daily News. Retrieved November 2, 2015.
- Otterbein, Olly (May 27, 2015). "Why Voter Turnout Sucked in Philly's Mayoral Race". Philadelphia Magazine. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
- Hepp, Chris (May 20, 2015). "Landslide: Kenney romps in Philly mayor's race". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved November 2, 2015.
- Vargas, Claudia (September 17, 2014). "Abraham to run for Mayor". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved September 17, 2014.
- "Clout: Putting a Latin spin on '15 mayoral race", Philly.com. Retrieved March 8, 2014.
- Nick Field (December 15, 2014). "Nelson Diaz to Run for Mayor of Philadelphia". PoliticsPA. Retrieved December 17, 2014.
- "Does Bill Green Want to Skip the Mayor’s Race and Run for Congress?", Phillymag.com. Retrieved May 16, 2013.
- Chris Brennan (January 22, 2015). "Plot thickens as field thins: Kenney to join Philly mayor's race?". philly.com. Retrieved January 26, 2015.
- Chris Brennan; Chris Hepp (January 23, 2015). "Kenney decides to run for mayor". philly.com. Retrieved January 26, 2015.
- Matt Cassidy (February 5, 2015). "PHL-15: Kenney Officially Joins Phila. Mayoral Race". PoliticsPA. Retrieved February 7, 2015.
- Jenny DeHuff (January 5, 2015). "Doug Oliver announces he's running for mayor". Philly.com. Retrieved January 5, 2015.
- McQuade, Dan (November 5, 2014). "Milton Street to Run for Mayor Unless He Dies On 100-Mile Bike Ride". Philadelphia Magazine. Retrieved November 18, 2014.
- Chris Hepp (January 7, 2015). "He's back: Milton Street again running for Phila. mayor". Philly.com. Retrieved January 8, 2015.
- "Anthony Williams Potentially Gearing up for Philly Mayoral Run", PoliticsPA. Retrieved June 3, 2014.
- Williams, Damon C. (November 18, 2014). "State Sen. Williams announces mayoral candidacy". Philadelphia Tribune. Retrieved November 18, 2014.
- Shaheeli, Joe (January 8, 2015). "POLS ON THE STREET: Special Election Seen For 170th District". The Public Record. Retrieved February 9, 2015.
- "Terry Gillen leaving administration", Philly.com. Retrieved June 4, 2014.
- "Terry Gillen announcing run for mayor of Philadelphia", Philly.com. Retrieved September 5, 2014.
- Claudia Vargas (January 2, 2015). "Terry Gillen drops out of mayor's race". philly.com. Retrieved January 2, 2015.
- Mondics, Chris (February 15, 2015). "Goodman officially enters Phila. mayoral race". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved March 11, 2015.
- Brennan, Chris (March 10, 2015). "Pastor Keith Goodman drops out of the mayor's race". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved March 11, 2015.
- "Former City Solicitor eyes 2015 bid for mayor", Philly.com. Retrieved August 9, 2013.
- "Another candidate jumping into the mayor's race", Bizjournals.com. Retrieved September 16, 2014.
- Kerkstra, Patrick (January 21, 2015). "Ken Trujillo Is Out of the Mayor's Race". Philadelphia Magazine. Retrieved January 21, 2015.
- Brennan, Chris (November 18, 2014). "Butkovitz drops plans to run for mayor; Clarke is undecided". Philadelphia Daily News. Retrieved November 18, 2014.
- Hepp, Chris (January 12, 2015). "Darrell L. Clarke says he won't run for Phila. mayor". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved January 12, 2015.
- Hepp, Chris (December 9, 2014). "Evans bows out of Phila. mayor's race before he gets in". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved December 10, 2014.
- "Green shelves mayoral ambitions for SRC job", Philly.com. Retrieved March 7, 2014.
- "From disasters to City Hall?", Philly.com. Retrieved September 14, 2013.
- "Pastor Kevin Johnson Decides Not to Run for Mayor", Phillymag.com. Retrieved April 16, 2014.
- Chris Hepp; Chris Brennan (January 22, 2015). "Independent's day? Katz mulls another mayoral run". philly.com. Retrieved January 26, 2015.
- Davies, Dave (February 12, 2015). "Katz for mayor – again?". NewsWorks. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved March 11, 2015.
- "Tom Knox ends campaign for mayor before it starts", Philly.com. Retrieved March 7, 2014.
- Bender, William (January 22, 2015). "Trujillo throws support to Alba Martinez, she declines". Philadelphia Daily News. Retrieved February 9, 2015.
- "Is the city's managing director looking at the top job?", Philly.com. Retrieved May 17, 2013.
- Brennan, Chris (December 11, 2014). "Rizzo drops mayoral plans for comeback bid on Council". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved December 11, 2014.
- Brennan, Chris (November 5, 2014). "Philadelphia's race for mayor begins today". Philadelphia Daily News. Retrieved November 18, 2014.
- Otterbein, Holly (January 14, 2015). "Jonathan Saidel Is Thinking About Running for Mayor". Philadelphia Magazine. Retrieved March 11, 2015.
- Dunn, Mike (January 26, 2015). "Jonathan Saidel Decides Against 2015 Run for Philadelphia Mayor". KYW-TV. Retrieved March 11, 2015.
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- "City Wide Election Results". Philadelphia City Commissioners Office. Retrieved June 5, 2015.
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- Brennan, Chris (February 19, 2015). "GOP's mayoral candidate will likely be ... little-known". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved March 11, 2015.
- Brennan, Chris (March 10, 2015). "GOP mayoral candidate six weeks ago was a Democrat". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved March 11, 2015.
- Brennan, Chris (February 5, 2015). "GOP reaches out to Castille to run for mayor; he declines". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved February 9, 2015.
- Featherman, John (January 8, 2015). "Featherman: Is 'Mayor Domb' in Philly's future?". philly.com. Retrieved March 11, 2015.
- Brennan, Chris (February 12, 2015). "Phila. Republicans tried to draft PHA chief Kelvin Jeremiah to run for mayor". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved March 11, 2015.
- Mike Dunn (November 18, 2014). "Doug Oliver Says If He Runs For Phila. Mayor, It'll Be as a Democrat". CBS Philadelphia. Retrieved January 5, 2015.
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- Brennan, Chris (March 11, 2015). "A run for mayor for Bill Green?". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved March 11, 2015.
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- "Is Sam Katz Running for Mayor Again?", Phillymag.com. Retrieved April 16, 2014.