Mayoral elections in Virginia Beach are held every four years to elect the
mayor of Virginia Beach
The mayor of Virginia Beach is the head of the municipal government in Virginia Beach, Virginia, which has a Council–manager government, council-manager system of government. The mayor presides over city council meetings and serves as the cerem ...
.
All
Virginia Beach
Virginia Beach is an independent city located on the southeastern coast of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 459,470 at the 2020 census. Although mostly suburban in character, it is the most populous city ...
municipal elections are required to be
non-partisan
Nonpartisanism is a lack of affiliation with, and a lack of bias towards, a political party.
While an Oxford English Dictionary definition of ''partisan'' includes adherents of a party, cause, person, etc., in most cases, nonpartisan refers sp ...
, but most candidates can be affiliated with political parties. Virginia Beach uses a
plurality voting system
Plurality voting refers to electoral systems in which a candidate, or candidates, who poll more than any other counterpart (that is, receive a plurality), are elected. In systems based on single-member districts, it elects just one member per ...
, with no possibility of
runoffs.
2008
The 2008 Virginia Beach mayoral election took place on November 4, 2008, to elect the next
mayor of Virginia Beach
The mayor of Virginia Beach is the head of the municipal government in Virginia Beach, Virginia, which has a Council–manager government, council-manager system of government. The mayor presides over city council meetings and serves as the cerem ...
. Incumbent
Democratic Mayor
Meyera Oberndorf
Meyera E. Oberndorf (February 10, 1941 – March 13, 2015) was the 23rd Mayor of Virginia Beach, Virginia. She was Virginia Beach's longest-serving mayor, and she previously served as the city's vice mayor. She was the city's first female ...
lost re-election to
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
candidate
Will Sessoms
William Douglas Sessoms Jr. (born c. 1954) is an American politician and bank officer who served as the mayor of Virginia Beach, Virginia from 2008 until his resignation in April, 2018. He was president and CEO of Towne Financial Services Group ...
(ending Oberndorf's two-decade tenure as the city's mayor).
Will Sessoms was endorsed by Doug McCain, who is a Virginia Beach resident and
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two terms ...
's son.
By December 31, 2007, Sessoms had a
US$
The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
321,000 to $5,600 fundraising edge.
Results
2012
The 2012 Virginia Beach mayoral election took place on November 6, 2012, to elect the
mayor of Virginia Beach
The mayor of Virginia Beach is the head of the municipal government in Virginia Beach, Virginia, which has a Council–manager government, council-manager system of government. The mayor presides over city council meetings and serves as the cerem ...
. Incumbent
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
Mayor
Will Sessoms
William Douglas Sessoms Jr. (born c. 1954) is an American politician and bank officer who served as the mayor of Virginia Beach, Virginia from 2008 until his resignation in April, 2018. He was president and CEO of Towne Financial Services Group ...
won re-election with 69.01% of the vote.
Results
2016
The 2016 Virginia Beach mayoral election took place on November 8, 2016, to elect the
nayor of Virginia Beach. Incumbent
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
Mayor
Will Sessoms
William Douglas Sessoms Jr. (born c. 1954) is an American politician and bank officer who served as the mayor of Virginia Beach, Virginia from 2008 until his resignation in April, 2018. He was president and CEO of Towne Financial Services Group ...
ran for a third term. He was re-elected with 54.1% of the vote.
Results
2018 special
The 2018 Virginia Beach mayoral special election took place on November 6, 2018, to elect the next
mayor of Virginia Beach
The mayor of Virginia Beach is the head of the municipal government in Virginia Beach, Virginia, which has a Council–manager government, council-manager system of government. The mayor presides over city council meetings and serves as the cerem ...
. concurrently with various state and local elections. Incumbent
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
mayor
Will Sessoms
William Douglas Sessoms Jr. (born c. 1954) is an American politician and bank officer who served as the mayor of Virginia Beach, Virginia from 2008 until his resignation in April, 2018. He was president and CEO of Towne Financial Services Group ...
resigned, which led to the special election.
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
candidate
Bobby Dyer defeted
Democratic candidate M. Ben Davenport with 51.80% of the vote.
Dyer was a physical therapist as well as a professor of government at
Regent University
Regent University is a private Christian university in Virginia Beach, Virginia. The university was founded by Pat Robertson in 1977 as Christian Broadcasting Network University, and changed its name to Regent University in 1990. Regent offers ...
and M. Ben Davenport served as an at-large member of the Virginia Beach City Council since 2015.
Dyer won despite being outspent by Davenport 5 to 1.
Results
2020
The 2020 Virginia Beach mayoral election took place on November 3, 2020, to elect the
mayor of Virginia Beach
The mayor of Virginia Beach is the head of the municipal government in Virginia Beach, Virginia, which has a Council–manager government, council-manager system of government. The mayor presides over city council meetings and serves as the cerem ...
. Incumbent
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
Mayor
Bobby Dyer defeted
Democrat
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (United States) (D)
**Democratic ...
Jody Wagner
Jody Moses Wagner (born August 6, 1955) is an American politician from Virginia Beach, Virginia. A Democrat, she served as State Treasurer of Virginia from January 2002 to January 2006, and as Virginia Secretary of Finance in the Cabinet of Govern ...
, who was the former
Virginia Secretary of Finance
The Secretary of Finance is a member of the Virginia Governor's Cabinet. The office is currently vacant.
List of Secretaries of Finance Secretary of Finance (July 1, 1972–July 1, 1976)
* Walter Craigie (1972–1973)
* William H. Forst (1973– ...
and
Virginia State Treasurer
The Virginia State Treasurer is the head of the Virginia Department of the Treasury. They are the primary manager of the state's multi-billion dollar investment portfolio and oversee the issuance of bonds and management of debt in excess of $15 b ...
, with 51.64% of the vote.
Bobby Dyer was first elected in a 2018 special election held due to the resignation of Mayor
Will Sessoms
William Douglas Sessoms Jr. (born c. 1954) is an American politician and bank officer who served as the mayor of Virginia Beach, Virginia from 2008 until his resignation in April, 2018. He was president and CEO of Towne Financial Services Group ...
.
Background
On February 27, 2020, city council member
Aaron Rouse
Aaron Roosevelt Rouse (born January 8, 1984) is a former American football safety who last played for the Virginia Destroyers of the United Football League. He was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the third round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He p ...
announced his intention to seek office. When reached by ''
The Virginian-Pilot
''The Virginian-Pilot'' is the daily newspaper for Norfolk, Virginia. Commonly known as ''The Pilot'', it is Virginia's largest daily. It serves the five cities of South Hampton Roads as well as several smaller towns across southeast Virginia ...
'' for comment on the announcement, Bobby Dyer confirmed that he would be seeking re-election.
On May 30, 2020, Rouse announced that he was dropping out of the race citing the
coronavirus pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...
as the reason for ending his campaign.
On June 9, 2020, former Virginia Secretary of Finance
Jody Wagner
Jody Moses Wagner (born August 6, 1955) is an American politician from Virginia Beach, Virginia. A Democrat, she served as State Treasurer of Virginia from January 2002 to January 2006, and as Virginia Secretary of Finance in the Cabinet of Govern ...
announced that she would challenge Dyer in the upcoming election.
On June 12, 2020, businessman Richard W. "RK" Kowalewitch announced that he would also challenge Dyer.
On October 8, 2020, the Virginia Beach Forum conducted a series of interviews with Dyer, Wagner, and Kowalewitch.
On November 4, 2020, results confirmed that Dyer had won the election and been reelected to a second term. That morning, Wagner conceded to Dyer saying in a statement that they "both agreed that what our city needs right now is unity, and I look forward to working with him to move our city forward and address the critical challenges we face. While I am disappointed in the outcome of the election, I am incredibly grateful for the support from friends, family, and our entire community."
Candidates
Withdrew before the election
Endorsements
Results
2024
The 2024 Virginia Beach mayoral election will take place on November 5, 2024, to elect the
mayor of Virginia Beach
The mayor of Virginia Beach is the head of the municipal government in Virginia Beach, Virginia, which has a Council–manager government, council-manager system of government. The mayor presides over city council meetings and serves as the cerem ...
. Incumbent
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
Mayor
Bobby Dyer announced his re-election bid in 2023.
The mayoral election will take place alongside other 2024 Virginia Beach elections, including races for
City Council
A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...
.
Candidates
*
Bobby Dyer, incumbent mayor ''(since 2018) (Party Affiliation:
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
)''.
* Justin Burns, Commissioner of the Virginia Beach Clean Community Commission ''(Party Affiliation:
Democrat
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (United States) (D)
**Democratic ...
)''
* John Moss, former city council member for district 3 (1986–1990), at-large B1 (2011–2022), and candidate for mayor in 2008 ''(Party Affiliation:
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
)''
* Chris Taylor, city council member for district 8 ''(since 2023) (Party Affiliation:
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
)''
* Sabrina Wooten, city council member for district 1 (2018–2022) and district 6 ''(since 2023) (Party Affiliation:
Democrat
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (United States) (D)
**Democratic ...
)
Results
See also
*
Elections in Virginia
Elections in Virginia are authorized under Article I of the Virginia State Constitution, sections 5–6, and Article V which establishes elections for the state level officers, cabinet, and legislature. Article VII section 4 establishes the ele ...
*
Political party strength in Virginia
The following table indicates party affiliation in the Commonwealth of Virginia for the individual offices of:
*Governor
* Lieutenant Governor
* Attorney General
It also indicates the historical composition of the collective:
* Senate
* House of D ...
*
Government of Virginia
The government of Virginia combines the executive, legislative and judicial branches of authority in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The current governor of Virginia is Glenn Youngkin. The State Capitol building in Richmond was designed by Thom ...
*
Timeline of Virginia Beach, Virginia
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Virginia Beach, Virginia, USA.
Prior to 20th century
* 1607 - English colonists land on beach.
* 1639 - Lynnhaven Parish Church built.
* 1720 - Adam Thoroughgood House built (approxim ...
References
{{reflist
Virginia Beach, Virginia
Local elections in Virginia
Non-partisan elections