2020 Baltimore mayoral election


The 2020 Baltimore mayoral election was held on November 3, 2020, concurrent with the general election. Baltimore City Council President Brandon Scott, the Democratic Party nominee, won a sizable victory over independent candidate Bob Wallace, Republican Party nominee Shannon Wright, and Working Class Party nominee David Harding.
Incumbent acting mayor Jack Young, who unsuccessfully ran for the Democratic Party nomination, had become mayor following the resignation of Catherine Pugh. Pugh's resignation had come after she was embroiled in a scandal.
Scott won the Democratic nomination in a crowded primary election that had 24 candidates listed on the ballot. Six of these candidates received in excess of 5 percent of the vote. With 29.6% of the vote, Scott's margin-of-victory over former mayor Sheila Dixon's second-place finish was 2.1%. The acting incumbent, Young, placed a weak fifth, with 6.2% of the vote. In addition to Scott, Dixon, and Young, the primary included the candidacies of businesswoman and former United States Department of the Treasury executive Mary J. Miller; former Maryland Deputy Attorney General Thiruvendran Vignarajah; and former county and police department press secretary/spokesperson T.J. Smith. State Senator Mary L. Washington also ran and was listed on the ballot, but had suspended her campaign before the election. In the Republican primary, Shannon Wright defeated six other candidates. The Democratic primary had 148,405 votes cast, while the Republican primary only had 5,608 votes.
The primary elections were originally scheduled to be held on April 28, 2020, with early voting running from April 16 to 23. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, however, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan announced on March 17, 2020, that the primary election would be 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. 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 in April 2015, the removal of Confederate monuments and memorials in 2017, the 2018 rebranding and launch of the BaltimoreLink 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, Brandon Scott had nearly $430,000, Rikki Vaughn $218,000 cash on-hand, Mary Washington had more than $116,000, Sheila Dixon had nearly $89,000, Carlmichael "Stokey" Cannady had nearly $36,000, and T.J. Smith had about $22,000.

Declared candidates

Withdrawn candidates

Declined to be candidates

Polling

Poll sourceDate
administered		Sheila
Dixon		Brandon
Scott		Thiru
Vignarajah		Jack
Young		T.J.
Smith		Mary
Miller		Mary
Washington		Undecided
Gonzales ResearchMay 14, 201923%–16%19%–––24%
Baltimore Fox 45January 14, 202015.7%17.9%18.2%15%11%––12.2%
GQR Research/Sheila DixonFebruary 6–10, 202020%16%11%11%13%2%9%17%
Fox GonzalesFebruary 26, 202017%11%15%9%15%–––
WYPR, Baltimore SunMarch 4, 202016%10%10%6%9%7%–31%
WYPR, U of Baltimore Baltimore SunMay 11–18, 202018%15%11%5%6%18%–22%
Mason-Dixon Polling & StrategyMarch 24, 202018%15%12%7%22%9%–15%

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 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

Independent

Declared candidates

  • 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.
  • David Harding, Working Class Party
  • Robert Wallace, Independent candidate and businessman