2015 Columbus, Ohio mayoral election

The 2015 Columbus mayoral election took place on November 3, 2015, to elect the Mayor of Columbus, Ohio. The election was officially nonpartisan, with the top two candidates from the May 5 primary advancing to the general election, regardless of party.[1]

Columbus, Ohio mayoral election, 2015

November 3, 2015

Candidate Andrew Ginther Zach Scott Party Nonpartisan Nonpartisan Popular vote 88,822 60,686 Percentage 59% 41%

Mayor before election Michael B. Coleman Democratic Elected Mayor Andrew Ginther Democratic

Incumbent Democratic Mayor Michael B. Coleman was not running for re-election to a fifth term in office.[2]

Candidates

Declared

• Andrew Ginther, President of the Columbus City Council[3]
• James Ragland, development director at the Cristo Rey Columbus High School and former State Central Committeeman for the Ohio Democratic Party[4]
• Zach Scott, Franklin County Sheriff[5]

Declined

• Joyce Beatty, U.S. Representative (endorsed Ginther)[2][6]
• Kevin Boyce, State Representative and former Ohio State Treasurer (endorsed Ginther)[6][7]
• John Patrick Carney, State Representative and nominee for Ohio State Auditor in 2014[1]
• Michael B. Coleman, incumbent mayor (endorsed Ginther)[2][8]
• Tracy Maxwell Heard, Minority Leader of the Ohio House of Representatives[1]
• Michael C. Mentel, attorney and former Columbus City Council President[1]
• Michelle Mills, Columbus City Councilmember[2][6]
• Charleta Tavares, State Senator[6]

Declared

• Terry Boyd, former President of the Columbus Board of Education[9][10]

Declined

• Jim Hughes, State Senator[11]
• Ron O'Brien, Franklin County Prosecuting Attorney[11]

Primary results

The Columbus Mayoral primary was nonpartisan, but candidates were endorsed by their parties. The two candidates who received the most votes advanced to the general election in November regardless of party.

Primary election result[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nonpartisan	Andrew Ginther	24,227	51.8
	Nonpartisan	Zach Scott	8,560	18.3
	Nonpartisan	Terry Boyd	8,461	18.1
	Nonpartisan	James Ragland	5,552	11.9

General election results

Ginther Marching in Columbus' Independence Day parade during his campaign

General election result[13][14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nonpartisan	Andrew Ginther	88,822	59
	Nonpartisan	Zach Scott	60,686	41

References

1. Gary Seman, Jr. (December 2, 2014). "Jockeying starts for nonpartisan primary in 2015". This Week. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
2. Lucas Sullivan; Doug Caruso (November 25, 2014). "Mayor Coleman Announces He Won't Run Next Year". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
3. Josh Jarman (December 10, 2014). "Ginther launches campaign for mayor of Columbus". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved December 10, 2014.
4. Walker Evans (January 19, 2015). "James Ragland Enters Race for Columbus Mayor". Columbus Underground. Retrieved February 3, 2015.
5. Josh Jarman (November 27, 2014). "Sheriff Zach Scott says he's running for mayor". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved December 3, 2014.
6. Lucas Sullivan (December 7, 2014). "Columbus mayor's race might draw several prominent politicians". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
7. Lucas Sullivan (January 22, 2015). "Strickland, Boyce among Democrats backing Ginther for Columbus mayor". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved February 3, 2015.
8. Elizabeth Faugl (December 17, 2014). "Coleman Endorses Ginther to Take over Mayor's Office". ABC6. Retrieved December 19, 2014.
9. Lucas Sullivan (December 18, 2014). "Coleman endorses Ginther for mayor". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved December 24, 2014.
10. Lucas Sullivan (January 16, 2015). "Republicans tap Boyd for Columbus mayor, former Ohio State player Dimitrious Stanley for council". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved January 20, 2015.
11. Kurtzman, Lori; Zachariah, Holly (January 8, 2015). "Local Government Insider: GOP still looking for Columbus mayoral candidate". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved January 16, 2015.
12. "Franklin County BOE election results | Franklin County BOE" (PDF). freep.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-06-01. Retrieved 2015-09-11.
13. http://www.dispatch.com/content/sections/news/government-politics/elections/index.html
14. http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/public/2015/election/columbus-mayor.html

Further reading

• Jarman, Josh (December 7, 2014). "Election To Succeed Mayor Coleman Could Widen Democrats' Rift". The Columbus Dispatch. The Dispatch Printing Company. Retrieved 7 December 2014.