Elections are held in Fort Wayne , Indiana to elect the city's mayor . Currently, such elections are regularly scheduled to be held every four years, in the year immediately preceding that of United States presidential elections .
Elections before 1987
1987
1987 Fort Wayne mayoral election
The 1987 Fort Wayne mayoral election was held on November 3, 1987, to elect the mayor of Fort Wayne, Indiana , United States. It saw the election of Republican Paul Helmke , who unseated Democratic incumbent Winfield Moses .
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1991
1991 Fort Wayne mayoral election
The 1991 Fort Wayne mayoral election was held on November 5, 1991, to elect the mayor of Fort Wayne, Indiana , United States. It saw the reelection of Republican incumbent Paul Helmke .
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1995
1995 Fort Wayne mayoral election
The 1995 Fort Wayne mayoral election was held on November 7, 1995, to elect the mayor of Fort Wayne, Indiana , United States. It saw the reelection of Republican incumbent Paul Helmke . As of 2023 , this is the last time a Republican was elected Mayor of Fort Wayne.
Nominations
Democratic primary
Wayne Township Trustee Thomas Essex won the Democratic primary with 4,056 votes.[ 2]
Republican primary
Some Republicans speculated that Helmke, who had ties to the Clinton administration , might have been endangered in his primary. However, contrarily, he handily won his primary with 75% of the vote (7,717 votes).[ 2]
Libertarian nomination
Libertarians nominated William Kempf.
General election
The race was projected by Howey Political Report to be "safe Republican", with Helmke anticipated to be easily reelected.[ 3] [ 4]
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1999
1999 Fort Wayne mayoral election Turnout 34%
The 1999 Fort Wayne mayoral election was held on November 2, 1999, to elect the mayor of Fort Wayne, Indiana , United States. It saw the election of Democrat Graham Richard , who defeated Republican Linda Buskirk by a narrow margin.
Nominations
Democratic primary
Running for the Democratic nomination was Graham Richard, Agnes Hopkins, and David Roach.[ 7]
Republican primary
Running for the Republican nomination was Linda Buskirk and Allen County Sheriff Joe Squadrito.[ 7] While he had been seen as a frontrunner,[ 7] Squadrito ultimately lost the primary to Buskirk.
Independent candidates
Independent candidates Sherri Emerson and William B. Dinkins also ran.
General election
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2003
2003 Fort Wayne mayoral election
The 2003 Fort Wayne mayoral election was held on November 4 to elect the mayor of Fort Wayne, Indiana , US. It saw the reelection of Democratic incumbent Graham Richard , who again defeated Republican Linda Buskirk in what was a rematch of the 1999 election.
Nominations
Primary elections were held May 8.[ 13]
During its primaries, the voter turnout in Allen County , in which Fort Wayne is located, was 11.9%.[ 13]
Democratic primary
Republican primary
General election
The election was projected as a "tossup".[ 14] Despite the race having been projected to be close, Richard won a sizable victory over Buskirk.[ 15]
During the general election, the voter turnout in Allen County, in which Fort Wayne is located, was 30.63%.[ 12]
2003 was a good year for Democrats in Indiana's mayoral elections, with the party winning control of the mayoralties of all of the state's top seven most populous cities for the first time since 1959.[ 15] The Democratic Party also won control of the mayoralties in twenty of the state's thirty cities with populations above 25,000.[ 15] Additionally, in 2003, Democrats won more than 56% of partisan mayoral races in Indiana.[ 16]
During the general election, Allen County , where Fort Wayne is located, saw voter turnout of 25% in its various elections.[ 17]
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2007
2007 Fort Wayne mayoral election
The 2007 Fort Wayne mayoral election was held on November 6 to elect the mayor of Fort Wayne, Indiana , United States. It saw the election of Democrat Tom Henry .
Incumbent mayor Graham Richard did not seek reelection to a third term.
Nominations
Primary elections were held May 8.[ 19]
Democratic primary
Republican primary
General election
In August, Kelty was indicted over perjury and campaign finance charges. While he denied wrongdoing, this story dominated the campaign.[ 20]
During the general election, Allen County , where Fort Wayne is located, saw voter turnout of 21% in its various elections.[ 21]
Aftermath
In October 2008, Kelty pleaded guilty to several of the campaign finance charges brought against him.[ 22]
Henry would go on to be reelected in 2011, 2015 , and 2019 .
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2011
2011 Fort Wayne mayoral election
The 2011 Fort Wayne mayoral election was held on November 8 to elect the mayor of Fort Wayne, Indiana , United States. It saw the reelection of Democrat Tom Henry .
Nominations
Primary elections were held May 3.[ 24]
During the primary elections, the voter turnout in Allen County, in which Fort Wayne is located, was 12.78%.[ 24]
Democratic primary
Republican primary
General election
During the general election, the voter turnout in Allen County, in which Fort Wayne is located, was 26.21%.[ 23]
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2015
2015 Fort Wayne mayoral election
The 2015 Fort Wayne mayoral election was held on November 3 to elect the mayor of Fort Wayne, Indiana , United States. It saw the reelection of Democrat Tom Henry to a third term.
Nominations
Primary elections were held May 5.[ 26]
During the primary elections, the voter turnout in Allen County, in which Fort Wayne is located, was 9.82%.[ 26]
Democratic primary
Republican primary
General election
During the general election, the voter turnout in Allen County, in which Fort Wayne is located, was 22.49%.[ 25]
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2019
2019 Fort Wayne mayoral election
The 2019 Fort Wayne mayoral election was held on November 5 to elect the mayor of Fort Wayne, Indiana , United States. Incumbent mayor Tom Henry was reelected to a fourth term.
Nominations
Primary elections were held May 7.[ 27]
Democratic primary
Republican primary
General election
Earlier in the campaign Henry was thought to be vulnerable, but the race ended up not being close. In his victory speech, Henry announced that it would be his last term as mayor, though he later decided to run for a fifth term against businessman Tim Didier for 2023. He was sworn in for his fourth term on January 1, 2020. His fourth term will expire on January 1, 2024.
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2023
2023 Fort Wayne mayoral election
The 2023 Fort Wayne mayoral election was held on November 5 to elect the mayor of Fort Wayne, Indiana , United States. Incumbent mayor Tom Henry was reelected to a fifth term.
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References
^ a b "Helmke won't press; Bayh ain't talkin' " (PDF) . The Howey Political Report . 4 (29). July 9, 1998. Retrieved November 4, 2019 .
^ a b "Upsets, resilience mark mayoral races" (PDF) . The Howey Political Report . 1 (32). May 4, 1995.
^ "Final look at mayoral races prior to '95 polling" (PDF) . The Howey Political Report . 2 (9). November 1, 1995.
^ "Indy mayoral race big Democratic blunder?" (PDF) . The Howey Political Report . 2 (8). October 24, 1995.
^ "Indiana Racing Form Indiana Mayoral Races 1999" (PDF) . The Howey Political Report . 5 (30). February 15, 1999. Retrieved September 25, 2019 .
^ "Helmke won't press; Bayh ain't talkin' " (PDF) . The Howey Political Report . 4 (29). July 9, 1998. Retrieved November 4, 2019 .
^ a b c "Indiana Racing Form INDIANA MAYORAL RACES 1999" (PDF) . The Howey Political Report . 5 (30). April 15, 1999. Retrieved September 25, 2019 .
^ "Democratic Primary Mayoral Elections Fort Wayne" . www.in.gov . Indiana Secretary of State. July 21, 1999. Archived from the original on May 19, 2009. Retrieved October 12, 2020 .
^ "Republican Primary Mayoral Elections Fort Wayne" . www.in.gov . Indiana Secretary of State. July 21, 1999. Archived from the original on May 19, 2009. Retrieved October 12, 2020 .
^ "INDIANA MAYORAL ELECTIONS 1999 FORT WAYNE" . www.in.gov . Indiana Secretary of State. Archived from the original on June 18, 2009. Retrieved October 12, 2020 .
^ "Indiana 2003 Racing Form Indiana 2003 Mayoral Races" (PDF) . The Howey Political Report . 9 (26). February 27, 2003. Retrieved September 25, 2019 .
^ a b c "MUNICIPAL ELECTION ELECTION SUMMARY REPORT" (PDF) . Allen County, Indiana. November 6, 2003. Retrieved September 25, 2019 .
^ a b c d "MUNICIPAL PRIMARY 2003 ELECTION SUMMARY REPORT" (PDF) . Allen County, Indiana. May 5, 2007. Retrieved September 25, 2019 .
^ "Indiana 2003 Racing Form Indiana 2003 Mayoral Races" (PDF) . The Howey Political Report . 9 (26). February 27, 2003. Retrieved September 10, 2019 .
^ a b c Howey, Brian A. (November 5, 2003). "Democrats control top 7 Hoosier cities" (PDF) . The Howey Political Report . 10 (14). Retrieved December 11, 2019 .
^ Marschall, Melissa; Lappie, John (May 2016). "Mayoral Elections in Indiana 2003–2015" (PDF) . Rice Kinder Institute for Urban Research. Retrieved May 5, 2020 .
^ "General Election Turnout and Registration" (PDF) . www.in.gov . Indiana Secretary of State.
^ a b "Election Summary Report -- 2007 Municipal Election" (PDF) . Allen County, Indiana. November 6, 2007. Archived from the original (web.archive.org) on May 14, 2023. Retrieved April 3, 2024 .
^ a b c "Election Summary Report -- 2007 Municipal Primary Election" (PDF) . Allen County, Indiana . May 21, 2007. Archived from the original (web.archive.org) on May 14, 2023. Retrieved April 3, 2024 .
^ Galer, Sarah (November 6, 2007). "Comeback kid: Ballard upsets Peterson to win Indy mayor's race" . 13 WTHR Indianapolis . WTHR-TV. Retrieved May 5, 2020 .
^ "General Election Turnout and Registration" (PDF) . www.in.gov . Indiana Secretary of State.
^ "Kelty pleads guilty, avoids jail" . KPCNews . October 21, 2008. Retrieved May 5, 2020 .
^ a b c "Election Summary Report" (PDF) . Allen County, Indiana. November 18, 2011. Retrieved September 25, 2019 .
^ a b c d "Election Summary Report" (PDF) . Allen County, Indiana. December 15, 2011. Retrieved September 25, 2019 .
^ a b c "Election Summary Report" (PDF) . Allen County, Indiana. November 13, 2013. Retrieved September 25, 2019 .
^ a b c d "Election Summary Report" (PDF) . Allen County, Indiana. May 18, 2015. Retrieved September 25, 2019 .
^ a b c "Election Summary Report" (PDF) . Allen County, Indiana. May 17, 2019. Retrieved September 25, 2019 .
^ "2015 Municipal Election Results" . Indy Gov. November 4, 2015. Archived from the original on November 17, 2015. Retrieved November 5, 2015 .
^ "2023 Election Day Results" . WOWO TV. November 7, 2023. Retrieved November 10, 2023 .