2018 Tallahassee mayoral election

The 2018 Tallahassee mayoral election took place on August 28 and November 6, 2018, to elect the Mayor of Tallahassee, Florida.

2018 Tallahassee mayoral election

August 28, 2018 (first round) November 6, 2018 (runoff)
Turnout	34.13% (first round) 55.49% (runoff)
Nominee John E. Dailey Dustin R. Daniels Party Nonpartisan Nonpartisan First-round vote 17,369 11,098 First-round percentage 39.72% 25.38% Second-round vote 41,316 39,072 Second-round percentage 51.4% 48.6%   Nominee Michelle Rehwinkel Vasilinda Carrie Litherland Party Nonpartisan Nonpartisan First-round vote 9,137 2,789 First-round percentage 20.89% 6.38%
Mayor before election Andrew Gillum Nonpartisan Elected Mayor John E. Dailey Nonpartisan

Incumbent mayor Andrew Gillum decided to focus his campaign on the 2018 Florida gubernatorial election instead of seeking reelection thus opening a new seat. A blanket primary was held on August 28 with John E. Dailey and Dustin R. Daniels receiving the most votes.[1] Because neither the candidate received a majority, a run-off election was held on November 8. Dailey defeated Daniels by a close margin of 51% to 49%.[2]

Candidates

Declared

• John E. Dailey, chairman of the Leon County Commission [3]
• Dustin R. Daniels, Mayor's chief of staff [4]
• Michelle Rehwinkel Vasilinda, attorney, professor [5]
• Carrie Litherland, advocate [6]
• Joe West, veteran [7]
• Norris Barr, former employee [8]

Potential

• Bill Montford, state senator [9]

Withdrawn

• Erik David, instructor, veteran [10]
• Bob Lotane, communications executive [11]
• Gil Ziffer, city commissioner [12]

Results

First round

2018 Tallahassee mayoral election results (first round)[13]

Candidate		Votes	%
John E. Dailey		17,369	39.72
Dustin R. Daniels		11,098	25.38
Michelle Rehwinkel Vasilinda		9,137	20.89
Carrie Litherland		2,789	6.38
Joe West		1,758	4.02
Mike Suarez		2,462	5.06
Norris H. Barr		1,579	3.61
Total votes		43,730

Runoff

2018 Tallahassee mayoral election results (runoff)[14]

Candidate		Votes	%
John E. Dailey		41,316	51.4
Dustin R. Daniels		39,072	48.6
Total votes		53,159

References

1. https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/2018/08/28/florida-primary-results-tallahassee-mayor-john-dailey-dustin-daniels-rehwinkel-vasilinda/1087106002/
2. https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/2018/11/06/john-dailey-wins-tallahassee-mayor-race/1861325002/
3. https://www.talgov.com/cityleadership/dailey.aspx
4. https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/2018/04/04/dustin-daniels-mayors-chief-staff-launches-campaign-video/484868002/
5. https://ballotpedia.org/Michelle_Rehwinkel_Vasilinda
6. https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/2018/05/15/local-mental-health-advocate-decides-run-tallahassee-mayor/607925002/
7. https://www.ecosia.org/search?q=joe+west+tallahassee
8. https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/2018/08/06/mayoral-and-commission-candidates-share-views/853099002/
9. https://www.ecosia.org/search?q=bill+montford
10. https://www.erikmdavid.com
11. https://tallahasseereports.com/2018/04/15/city-commission-candidate-bob-lotanes-tallahassee-is-no-gotham/
12. http://gilziffer.com
13. https://enr.electionsfl.org/LEO/1791/Summary/
14. https://data.tallahassee.com/election-results/