1979 Cleveland mayoral election

1979 Cleveland mayoral election ← 1978 (recall) November 6, 1979 1981 → Candidate George Voinovich Dennis Kucinich Party Nonpartisan Nonpartisan Popular vote 94,541 73,755 Percentage 56.18% 43.83% Mayor before election Dennis Kucinich Democratic Elected mayor George Voinovich Republican The 1979 Cleveland mayoral election took place on November 6, 1979, to elect the Mayor of Cleveland, Ohio. George Voinovich defeated incumbent mayor Dennis Kucinich. The election was officially nonpartisan, with the top two candidates from the October 2 primary advancing to the general election. Background Kucinich had a turbulent mayoralty since he was elected in 1977. He had, in 1978, survived Cleveland's first-ever mayoral recall election. Primary As election season approached, Kucinich decided to run again in the mayoral primary. In April, state senator, Charles L. Butts announced that he would enter the race. On July 5, council majority leader, Basil Russo joined the race. Finally, after off-and-on remarks of his candidacy, Republican George Voinovich, who initially supported Kucinich in 1977, decided to give up his position as lieutenant governor of Ohio to run on July 26. Unlike the 1977