From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

2015 Houston mayoral election

←  2013 November 3, 2015 (first round)
December 12, 2015 (runoff)
2019 →
 
Candidate Sylvester Turner Bill King Adrian Garcia
First round 81,735
31.31%
65,968
25.27%
44,758
17.14%
Runoff 108,389
50.96%
104,307
49.04%
Eliminated

 
Candidate Ben Hall Chris Bell Steve Costello
First round 24,805
9.50%
19,345
7.41%
17,546
6.72%
Runoff Eliminated Eliminated Eliminated

Mayor before election

Annise Parker

Elected Mayor

Sylvester Turner

The 2015 Houston mayoral election was decided by a runoff that took place on December 12, 2015, to elect the Mayor of Houston, Texas. As no candidate won a majority of the vote during the general election on November 3, 2015, the run off was held between the top two finishers, Sylvester Turner, who received 31.31% of the vote, and Bill King, who received 25.27%. [1] In the run-off, Turner edged King, 51% to 49%, to become the 62nd Mayor of Houston.

Thirteen candidates appeared on the November ballot. [2] A poll of likely voters conducted in June revealed that half of the city's likely voters were undecided, and that three of the candidates included in the poll, Sylvester Turner, Adrian Garcia and Chris Bell (all of whom were Democrats) were within the margin of error of the top two spots. [3] However, the final results were significantly different from the early polling, with Independent King claiming the second runoff spot along with Turner.

Mayoral elections in Houston are biennial, with the winner being sworn-in in the following January for a four-year term. The election is officially nonpartisan, although the political parties still support and endorse candidates.

With the passage of voter-approved Proposition 2, the Mayor began a four-year term effective in January 2016.

Incumbent Mayor Annise Parker, a member of the Democratic Party who had been in office since 2010, was term-limited and could not run for re-election to a fourth term in office. [4]

During the month between the general election and the runoff, Bell endorsed King, while Parker and Garcia, as well as then-U.S. President Barack Obama, endorsed Turner. [5]

Candidates

Declared

Withdrawn

  • Oliver Pennington, Houston City Councilmember [14] [15]

Declined

Polling

Poll source Date(s)
Sample
size
Margin of
error
Stephen
Costello
Bill

King

Sylvester

Turner

Adrian

Garcia

Chris

Bell

Marty

McVey

Ben

Hall

Don't Know Refused
UH Center for Public Policy & Rice University 5/20 -

6/21

500 ± 4.5% 2% 2% 16% 12% 8% 0% 3% 50% 6%

General election

Held November 3, 2015 -- 50% needed to avoid runoff

Houston mayoral election, 2015 [20]
Candidate Votes % ±
Sylvester Turner 81,735 31.31% Runoff
Bill King 65,968 25.27% Runoff
Adrian Garcia 44,758 17.14%
Ben Hall 24,805 9.50%
Chris Bell 19,345 7.41%
Steve Costello 17,546 6.72%
Hoc Thai Nguyen 2,325 0.89%
Marty McVey 1,378 0.53%
Demetria Smith 1,234 0.47%
Victoria A Lane 908 0.35%
Rafael Muñoz Jr. 515 0.20%
Dale Steffes 302 0.12%
Joe Ferreira 240 0.09%
Total votes 261,059 100%
Turnout 26.66%

Held December 12, 2015

Houston mayoral runoff election, 2015
Candidate Votes % ±
Sylvester Turner 108,389 51% +19%
Bill King 104,307 49% +24%
Turnout 212,696 100%
District Turner
 %
Turner
votes
King
 %
King
votes
District A 36.63% 5,493 63.37% 9,500
District B 92.75% 17,413 7.25% 1,361
District C 44.62% 16,005 55.38% 19,865
District D 85.74% 20,246 14.26% 3,368
District E 21.78% 5,600 78.22% 20,110
District F 46.21% 4,008 53.79% 4,665
District G 19.64% 6,893 80.36% 28,194
District H 64.30% 7,355 35.70% 4,084
District I 62.05% 5,895 37.95% 3,606
District J 46.89% 3,013 53.11% 3,414
District K 68.71% 12,718 31.29% 5,792
Montgomery County 24.18% 22 75.82% 70
Fort Bend County 93.08% 3,728 6.92% 278

See also

Notes

References

  1. ^ KTRK (November 4, 2015). "Turner, King headed for runoff for Houston mayor". ABC13 Houston. Retrieved June 9, 2021.
  2. ^ "2015 Candidates". The City of Houston. The City of Houston. Retrieved October 4, 2015.
  3. ^ "2015 Houston Mayoral Race". Houston Public Media. Houston Public Media. Retrieved October 4, 2015.
  4. ^ "Mayor Annise Parker reveals her third term agenda — and what she'd do with the Astrodome". Culture Map Houston. January 2, 2014. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
  5. ^ Svitek, Patrick (December 11, 2015). "Obama Endorses Turner in Houston Mayoral Runoff". Texas Tribune. Retrieved December 13, 2015.
  6. ^ a b c d "Houston Mayor's Race 2015 – Looking Ahead at Potential Candidates". Houston Business Weekly. Archived from the original on November 25, 2014. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
  7. ^ "Chris Bell to announce mayoral bid Sunday". Houston Chronicle. January 22, 2015. Retrieved January 24, 2015.
  8. ^ Korsgard, Ryan. "Businessman Bill King announces run for Houston mayor". Click2Houston.com. Retrieved June 23, 2015.
  9. ^ a b c d e "Fundraising rules may offer early advantage in mayor's race". The Houston Chronicle. November 12, 2014. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
  10. ^ "Ben Hall to run for Houston mayor in 2015". The Houston Chronicle. September 26, 2014. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
  11. ^ "Sylvester Turner eyes Houston Mayor job". My Fox Houston. February 11, 2014. Archived from the original on December 29, 2014. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
  12. ^ a b "And the 2015 race begins…". The Houston Chronicle. December 23, 2013. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
  13. ^ a b c "2015 list of who might run for mayor is crowded and growing". The Houston Chronicle. August 3, 2014. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
  14. ^ "Mayoral hopeful delivers kickoff speech at Space Center Rotary". The Bay Area Citizen. April 28, 2014. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
  15. ^ Morris, Mike (April 17, 2015). "Councilman ends run for mayor". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved April 20, 2015.
  16. ^ a b c "A dozen candidates actively weighing mayoral bids". The Houston Chronicle. December 12, 2014. Retrieved December 16, 2014.
  17. ^ "Chris Brown for Houston". Retrieved June 22, 2015.
  18. ^ "Dewhurst to start 'large public policy venture,' consider future run for office". Houston Chronicle. November 10, 2014. Retrieved December 19, 2014.
  19. ^ "Sole female candidate reconsiders run for Houston mayor". Houston Business Journal. September 12, 2014. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
  20. ^ James McAlester (November 5, 2011). "November 2015 election results". Channel 2 Houston. Archived from the original on November 17, 2015. Retrieved November 18, 2015.

External links