2025 Oakland mayoral special election

2025 Oakland mayoral special election

April 15, 2025
Turnout37.84%
Unofficial results
 
Candidate Barbara Lee Loren Taylor
First round 47,122
50.06%
42,342
44.98%
Final round 48,935
52.70%
43,929
47.30%

First round precinct results
Lee:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%
Taylor:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%
Simpson:      90–100%
Tie:      40–50%      50%      No votes

Mayor before election

Kevin Jenkins (interim)

Elected mayor

Barbara Lee

The 2025 Oakland mayoral special election was held on April 15, 2025, to elect the next mayor of Oakland, California, following the recall of mayor Sheng Thao in November 2024.

City Council president Nikki Fortunato Bas served as interim mayor until January 6, 2025, when she resigned to take a seat on the Alameda County Board of Supervisors. Fellow city councilor Kevin Jenkins then took over as interim mayor. The filing period for mayoral candidates lasted from December 23, 2024, to January 17, 2025. The winner of this election will complete Thao's current term and will be up for re-election in 2026. The election used ranked-choice voting.

Multiple media and news organizations called the race for Barbara Lee on April 18, three days after the election. While Lee won most of the city, Loren Taylor dominated in the Oakland Hills, home to "Oakland’s whitest, wealthiest and most economically conservative enclaves" which also had the highest turnout rate in the election.