Mayoral elections in Madison, Wisconsin


Nonpartisan elections are currently held every four years, in the year preceding a United States presidential election, to elect the mayor of Madison, Wisconsin.

1875

Silas U. Pinney was re-elected in 1875.

1969 and 1971

William Dyke was elected in both 1969 and 1971

1973

Paul Soglin won an upset victory over incumbent mayor William Dyke.

1977

Paul Soglin won re-election.

1989, 1993, and 1995

Former mayor Paul Soglin was returned to office in 1989, and was re-elected twice consecutively thereafter.

1997 (special)

The 1997 Madison mayoral special election was held February 17 and April 1, 1997, to elect the mayor of Madison, Wisconsin. It was held after the resignation of incumbent mayor Paul Soglin. It saw the election of Susan J. M. Bauman.

Candidates

Results

The February county and city primaries saw 42,483 ballots cast in Madison, reported as a turnout of 26%.
The April county and city general elections saw 52,619 ballots cast in Madison, reported as a turnout of 32%.

1999

The 1999 Madison mayoral election was held April 9, 1999, to elect the mayor of Madison, Wisconsin. It saw the reelection of incumbent mayor Susan J. M. Bauman.
Since only two candidates ran, no primary was held.

Results

The April county and city general saw 45,248 ballots cast in Madison, reported as a turnout of 31%.

2003

The 2003 Madison mayoral election was held February 20 and April 4, 2003, to elect the mayor of Madison, Wisconsin. It saw the election of Dave Cieslewicz. Incumbent mayor Susan J. M. Bauman was eliminated in the primary.

Candidates

2007

The 2007 Madison mayoral election was held February 22 and April 5, 2007, to elect the mayor of Madison, Wisconsin. It saw the reelection of incumbent mayor Dave Cieslewicz.

Candidates

  • Ray Allen, Madison School Board member and 1997 mayoral candidate
  • Dave Cieslewicz, incumbent mayor
  • Peter Munoz
  • Will Sandstrom, 2003 mayoral candidate

2011

The 2011 Madison mayoral election was held April 4, 2003, to elect the mayor of Madison, Wisconsin. It saw former mayor Paul Soglin return to the mayoralty by unseating incumbent mayor Dave Cieslewicz.
The primary and general election both coincided with those for a high-profile state supreme court race.

Candidates

2015

The 2015 Madison mayoral election was held February 17 and April 7, 2015, to elect the mayor of Madison, Wisconsin. It saw the reelection of incumbent mayor Paul Soglin.

Candidates

  • Richard V. Brown Sr.
  • Christopher Daly
  • Bridget Maniaci, former 2nd district member of the Madison Common Council
  • Scott Resnick, 8th district member of the Madison Common Council since 2011 and tech executive
  • Paul Soglin, incumbent mayor

2019

The 2019 Madison mayoral election was held February 19 and April 2, 2019, to elect the mayor of Madison, Wisconsin. It saw the election of Satya Rhodes-Conway, who unseated incumbent mayor Paul Soglin. Conway became the second woman and the first openly-gay individual elected mayor in the city's history.

Candidates

  • Maurice "Mo" Cheeks, 10th district member of the Madison Common Council since 2013 and Vice President of Business Development at MIOsoft
  • Nick Hart
  • Satya Rhodes-Conway, former 12th district member of the Madison Common Council
  • Raj Shukla
  • Paul Soglin, incumbent mayor

2023

The 2023 Madison mayoral election was held on April 4, 2023, to elect the mayor of Madison, Wisconsin.
A primary election was held on February 21, 2023, to narrow down the candidates to two. It saw record turnout due to the concurrent primary for the 2023 Wisconsin Supreme Court election. Satya Rhodes-Conway and Gloria Reyes qualified for the general election, while Scott Kerr was eliminated. Daniel Howell Jr., a write-in candidate, planned on running as a write-in candidate for the general election in addition to the primary.

Candidates