The 2020 Baltimore mayoral election was held on November 3, 2020, concurrent with the

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

Brandon Scott Brandon Maurice Scott (born April 8, 1984) is an American politician serving as the mayor of Baltimore, Maryland since 2020. The city of Baltimore uses a strong mayor-council structure for their government, meaning Scott holds strong mayoral po ...

won the Democratic Party's nomination for mayor and the general election. The primary election was to be held on April 28, 2020, with early voting from April 16 to 23. Due to 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 ...

Maryland Governor The Governor of the State of Maryland is the head of government of Maryland, and is the commander-in-chief of the state's National Guard units. The Governor is the highest-ranking official in the state and has a broad range of appointive powers ...

Larry Hogan Lawrence Joseph Hogan Jr. (born May 25, 1956) is an American politician and businessman serving as the 62nd governor of Maryland since 2015. A moderate member of the Republican Party, he was secretary of appointments under Maryland governor Bo ...

announced on March 17, 2020, that the primary election was postponed to June 2.

Background and candidates

Incumbent Mayor Jack Young, took office by default on May 2, 2019 following the resignation of Mayor

Catherine Pugh Catherine Elizabeth Pugh (born March 10, 1950) is an American former politician. A member of the Democratic Party, she served as the 51st mayor of Baltimore from 2016 to 2019, when she resigned amid a scandal that eventually led to criminal charg ...

. In October 2019, Young announced that he would seek election to remain mayor in 2020. Notable events since the 2016 election include an escalation of crime following the

death of Freddie Gray On April 12, 2015, Freddie Carlos Gray Jr., a 25-year-old African American, was arrested by the Baltimore Police Department over his legal possession of a knife. While being transported in a police van, Gray sustained injuries and was taken to ...

in April 2015, the

removal of Confederate monuments and memorials More than 100 monuments and memorials to the Confederate States of America (CSA; the Confederacy) and associated figures have been removed, all but five since 2015. Some have been removed by state and local governments; others have been torn do ...

in 2017, the 2018 rebranding and launch of the

BaltimoreLink The Maryland Transit Administration provides the primary public bus service for the Baltimore metropolitan area and commuter bus service in other parts of the state of Maryland. There are currently 76 bus routes, which include 45 LocalLink route ...

bus system following Governor Larry Hogan's cancellation of the Red Line, and the ''Healthy Holly'' scandal which resulted in Mayor Pugh's resignation in 2019.

Democratic primary

After the first campaign finance reporting date in mid January 2019, Bernard C. "Jack" Young had $960,000 cash on hand, Thiru Vignarajah reported having about $840,000,

had nearly $430,000, Rikki Vaughn $218,000 cash on-hand, Mary Washington had more than $116,000,

Sheila Dixon Sheila Ann Dixon (born December 27, 1953) is an American politician who served as the forty-eighth mayor of Baltimore, Maryland. When the former mayor, Martin O'Malley, was sworn in as governor on January 17, 2007, Dixon, the president of the Bal ...

had nearly $89,000, Carlmichael "Stokey" Cannady had nearly $36,000, and T.J. Smith had about $22,000.

Declared candidates

*Carlmichael "Stokey" Cannady, anti-violence activist and mediator *Lou Catelli (a.k.a. Will Bauer), unofficial "Mayor of Hampden" *Valerie L. Cunningham *

, former Mayor of Baltimore and 2016 mayoral candidate *Liri Fusha *Sean B. Gresh, author, professor of communications, former IBM Global Smart Cities communications lead *Michael Douglas Jensen, private citizen *Ralph E. Johnson Jr., author *James Hugh Jones, II, 2018 Democratic gubernatorial candidate *Terry Jay McCready *

Mary J. Miller Mary John Miller (born July 19, 1955) is an American government official and political candidate who served as Under Secretary for Domestic Finance and a former Acting Deputy Secretary of the Treasury. In 2020, she announced her candidacy for Ma ...

, former

T. Rowe Price T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. is an American publicly owned global investment management firm that offers funds, subadvisory services, separate account management, and retirement plans and services for individuals, institutions, and financial inter ...

executive and former Acting Deputy Secretary of the

U.S. Department of the Treasury The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and t ...

*Erik Powery *Yolanda Pulley, property manager and tenant activist *Brian J Salsberry * Brandon M. Scott,

Baltimore City Council The Baltimore City Council is the legislative branch that governs the City of Baltimore and its more than 600,000 citizens. It has 14 members elected by district and a president elected at-large; all serve four-year terms. The Council holds reg ...

President *Keith B. Scott *T.J. Smith, former Baltimore County Executive Press Secretary and Baltimore City Police Spokesperson *Dante Swinton, environmental justice researcher & community organizer *Rikki Vaughn, MBA, 2016 U.S. Senate candidate and multi-restaurant businessman * Thiruvendran "Thiru" Vignarajah, former Maryland Deputy Attorney General * Robert Wallace, Independent candidate and businessman *Frederick Ware-Newsome, perennial candidate * Bernard C. "Jack" Young, incumbent Mayor of Baltimore *Yasaun Young (No affiliation or relation to Jack Young)

Withdrawn candidates

* Lynn Sherwood Harris, former President of the Sandtown-Winchester Improvement Association ⁠— withdrew candidacy on September 23, 2019 * Mary Washington, Maryland State Senator for District 43 ⁠— suspended campaign on March 16, 2020

Declined to be candidates

* Jill P. Carter, Maryland State Senator for District 41 and 2007 mayoral candidate * Bill Ferguson, President of the Maryland Senate *

Ben Jealous Benjamin Todd Jealous (born January 18, 1973) is an American civil rights leader and social impact investor. He served as the president and chief executive officer of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) from 200 ...

, Former Director of the

NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E.&nb ...

and 2018 Maryland gubernatorial candidate *

Nick Mosby Nick J. Mosby (born 1978) is an American politician from Baltimore, Maryland. He is the current President of the Baltimore City Council. First elected to serve on the City Council from 2011 to 2016, Mosby was subsequently appointed in 2017 to th ...

, Maryland State Delegate for District 40

Polling

Results

Republican primary

Declared candidates

*Zulieka A. Baysmore *Catalina Byrd, political strategist and member of Baltimore's Women's Commission and Community Oversight Task Force *Ivan Gonzalez *William G. Herd, private citizen *Collins Otonna,

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

independent candidate for mayor *David Anthony Wiggins, Ranking Member, 2nd Councilmanic District, Baltimore City Republican Central Committee, Co-Founder Temple Afrika, Inc, President, Baltimore Black Think Tank Incorporated *Shannon Wright, nonprofit executive and former pastor, nominee for Baltimore City Council President in 2016

Results

Independent

Declared candidate

*Kahan Singh Dhillon, Jr. filed his candidacy but failed to submit the required number of signatures and does not appear on the general election ballot. *Robert Wallace, Independent candidate and businessman *David Harding, Working Class Party

General election

Polling

Results

Notes

;Partisan clients

References

External links

;Official campaign websites for mayoral candidates
Brandon Scott (D) for Mayor

Robert Wallace (I) for Mayor

Shannon Wright (R) for Mayor
{{2020 United States elections

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

November 2020 events in the United States Mayoral elections in Baltimore Baltimore mayoral