2023 Houston mayoral election

2023 Houston mayoral election

← 2019 November 7, 2023 (first round)
December 9, 2023 (runoff)
2027 →
 
Candidate John Whitmire Sheila Jackson Lee
First round 107,410
42.50%
90,093
35.64%
Runoff 129,495
64.42%
71,523
35.58%

 
Candidate Gilbert Garcia Jack Christie
First round 18,220
7.21%
17,364
6.87%
Runoff Eliminated Eliminated

Mayor before election

Sylvester Turner

Elected mayor

John Whitmire

The 2023 Houston mayoral election was held on November 7, 2023, with a runoff on December 9 because no candidate won a majority of the vote in the first round. It was held to elect the mayor of Houston, Texas. Incumbent Democratic mayor Sylvester Turner was term-limited and could not seek re-election to a third term in office. Municipal elections in Texas are officially nonpartisan.[1]

Two longtime fixtures of Houston politics, state senator John Whitmire and U.S. representative Sheila Jackson Lee, advanced to the runoff. Both Democrats, though Whitmire had drawn support from some Republicans while Turner endorsed Jackson Lee as his successor. Polls of the runoff consistently showed wide leads for Whitmire. Candidates eliminated in the first round include bond investor Gilbert Garcia and former at-large city councilor Jack Christie, the leading Republican candidate.

Whitmire prevailed in the runoff, defeating Jackson Lee in a landslide victory.[2]

  1. ^ Gaston, Gina (February 8, 2022). "Former Harris County Clerk Chris Hollins running for Houston mayor in 2023". ABC13. Archived from the original on February 7, 2022. Retrieved April 4, 2022.
  2. ^ McGuinness, Dylan (December 10, 2023). "John Whitmire elected Houston's next mayor, early voting results show". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved December 10, 2023.