Daniel Rickenmann (born 1969/1970) is an American businessman and politician, serving as the

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

Columbia, South Carolina Columbia is the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is List of municipalities in South Carolina, the second-largest ...

. Born in

Spartanburg, South Carolina Spartanburg is a city in and the seat of Spartanburg County, South Carolina, United States. The city of Spartanburg has a municipal population of 38,732 as of the 2020 census, making it the 11th-largest city in the state. For a time, the Off ...

, he is the son of immigrants from Switzerland. He attended the University of South Carolina in 1987.

Political career

In 2004, he was elected as an at-large representative for the city council of

. He held the position until 2013 when he chose not to run for reelection. He ran again for city council in 2017, winning the election as a representative from Columbia's fourth district. On November 16, 2021, Rickenmann won a runoff election against Tameika Devine, a councilwoman for the city of Columbia. Rickenman won 52% of the vote to Devine's 48%. He was sworn in as mayor of Columbia on January 4, 2022, succeeding

Stephen K. Benjamin Stephen Keith Benjamin (born December 1, 1969) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 70th mayor of Columbia, South Carolina from July 2010 to January 2022. He was the first African American mayor in the city's history. Befor ...

, who did not seek reelection. While candidates for the office of mayor in Columbia, SC are officially non-partisan, Rickenmann is a Republican. Conversely, his opponent in the 2021 election, Tameika Devine, is a Democrat. Devine was endorsed by former U.S. president

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...

and House Whip

Jim Clyburn James Enos Clyburn (born July 21, 1940) is an American politician and retired educator serving as a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from South Carolina. He has served as House Majority Whip since 2019. He is a two-time m ...

. Previously, Columbia has historically voted for Democratic candidates, including Joe Biden for U.S. president by nearly 40 points. Its two previous mayors, Bob Coble and Steve Benjamin were Democrats. Some Republicans, including

Ben Shapiro Benjamin Aaron Shapiro (born January 15, 1984) is an American attorney, businessman, columnist, conservative political commentator, and media personality. At age 17, he became the youngest nationally syndicated columnist in the United States. ...

and

United States Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

Rick Scott of

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, cited Rickenmann's win as part of a "red wave."

Electoral history

Notes

External links

Mayor's Inauguration and Swearing In Ceremony, January 4, 2022

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rickenmann, Daniel Living people South Carolina politicians South Carolina Republicans Mayors of Columbia, South Carolina Year of birth missing (living people)