Elections are held in
Fort Wayne ,
Indiana to elect
the city's mayor . Currently, such elections are regularly scheduled to be held every four years, in the year immediately preceding that of
United States presidential elections .
Elections before 1987
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(July 2021 )
1987
1987 Fort Wayne mayoral election
The 1987 Fort Wayne mayoral election was held on November 3, 1987, to elect the mayor of
Fort Wayne, Indiana , United States. It saw the election of Republican
Paul Helmke , who unseated Democratic incumbent
Winfield Moses .
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State-wide
1991
1991 Fort Wayne mayoral election
The 1991 Fort Wayne mayoral election was held on November 5, 1991, to elect the mayor of
Fort Wayne, Indiana , United States. It saw the reelection of Republican incumbent
Paul Helmke .
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1995
1995 Fort Wayne mayoral election
The 1995 Fort Wayne mayoral election was held on November 7, 1995, to elect the mayor of
Fort Wayne, Indiana , United States. It saw the reelection of Republican incumbent
Paul Helmke . As of 2023
[update] , this is the last time a Republican was elected Mayor of Fort Wayne.
Nominations
Democratic primary
Wayne Township Trustee Thomas Essex won the Democratic primary with 4,056 votes.
[2]
Republican primary
Some Republicans speculated that Helmke, who had ties to the
Clinton administration , might have been endangered in his primary. However, contrarily, he handily won his primary with 75% of the vote (7,717 votes).
[2]
Libertarian nomination
Libertarians nominated William Kempf.
General election
The race was projected by Howey Political Report to be "safe Republican", with Helmke anticipated to be easily reelected.
[3]
[4]
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1999
1999 Fort Wayne mayoral election Turnout 34%
The 1999 Fort Wayne mayoral election was held on November 2, 1999, to elect the mayor of
Fort Wayne, Indiana , United States. It saw the election of Democrat
Graham Richard , who defeated Republican Linda Buskirk by a narrow margin.
Nominations
Democratic primary
Running for the Democratic nomination was Graham Richard, Agnes Hopkins, and David Roach.
[7]
Republican primary
Running for the Republican nomination was Linda Buskirk and Allen County Sheriff Joe Squadrito.
[7] While he had been seen as a frontrunner,
[7] Squadrito ultimately lost the primary to Buskirk.
Independent candidates
Independent candidates Sherri Emerson and William B. Dinkins also ran.
General election
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2003
2003 Fort Wayne mayoral election
The 2003 Fort Wayne mayoral election was held on November 4 to elect the mayor of
Fort Wayne, Indiana , US. It saw the reelection of Democratic incumbent
Graham Richard , who again defeated Republican Linda Buskirk in what was a rematch of the 1999 election.
Nominations
Primary elections were held May 8.
[13]
During its primaries, the voter turnout in
Allen County , in which Fort Wayne is located, was 11.9%.
[13]
Democratic primary
Republican primary
General election
The election was projected as a "tossup".
[14] Despite the race having been projected to be close, Richard won a sizable victory over Buskirk.
[15]
During the general election, the voter turnout in Allen County, in which Fort Wayne is located, was 30.63%.
[12]
2003 was a good year for Democrats in Indiana's mayoral elections, with the party winning control of the mayoralties of all of the state's top seven most populous cities for the first time since 1959.
[15] The Democratic Party also won control of the mayoralties in twenty of the state's thirty cities with populations above 25,000.
[15] Additionally, in 2003, Democrats won more than 56% of partisan mayoral races in Indiana.
[16]
During the general election,
Allen County , where Fort Wayne is located, saw voter turnout of 25% in its various elections.
[17]
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2007
2007 Fort Wayne mayoral election
The 2007 Fort Wayne mayoral election was held on November 6 to elect the mayor of
Fort Wayne, Indiana , United States. It saw the election of Democrat
Tom Henry .
Incumbent mayor
Graham Richard did not seek reelection to a third term.
Nominations
Primary elections were held May 8.
[19]
Democratic primary
Republican primary
General election
In August, Kelty was
indicted over perjury and campaign finance charges. While he denied wrongdoing, this story dominated the campaign.
[20]
During the general election,
Allen County , where Fort Wayne is located, saw voter turnout of 21% in its various elections.
[21]
Aftermath
In October 2008, Kelty pleaded guilty to several of the campaign finance charges brought against him.
[22]
Henry would go on to be reelected in 2011,
2015 , and
2019 .
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2011
2011 Fort Wayne mayoral election
The 2011 Fort Wayne mayoral election was held on November 8 to elect the mayor of
Fort Wayne, Indiana , United States. It saw the reelection of Democrat
Tom Henry .
Nominations
Primary elections were held May 3.
[24]
During the primary elections, the voter turnout in Allen County, in which Fort Wayne is located, was 12.78%.
[24]
Democratic primary
Republican primary
General election
During the general election, the voter turnout in Allen County, in which Fort Wayne is located, was 26.21%.
[23]
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2015
2015 Fort Wayne mayoral election
The 2015 Fort Wayne mayoral election was held on November 3 to elect the mayor of
Fort Wayne, Indiana , United States. It saw the reelection of Democrat
Tom Henry to a third term.
Nominations
Primary elections were held May 5.
[26]
During the primary elections, the voter turnout in Allen County, in which Fort Wayne is located, was 9.82%.
[26]
Democratic primary
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General election
During the general election, the voter turnout in Allen County, in which Fort Wayne is located, was 22.49%.
[25]
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2019
2019 Fort Wayne mayoral election
The 2019 Fort Wayne mayoral election was held on November 5 to elect the mayor of
Fort Wayne, Indiana , United States. Incumbent mayor
Tom Henry was reelected to a fourth term.
Nominations
Primary elections were held May 7.
[27]
Democratic primary
Republican primary
General election
Earlier in the campaign Henry was thought to be vulnerable, but the race ended up not being close. In his victory speech, Henry announced that it would be his last term as mayor, though he later decided to run for a fifth term against businessman Tim Didier for 2023. He was sworn in for his fourth term on January 1, 2020. His fourth term will expire on January 1, 2024.
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2023
2023 Fort Wayne mayoral election
The 2023 Fort Wayne mayoral election was held on November 5 to elect the mayor of
Fort Wayne, Indiana , United States. Incumbent mayor
Tom Henry was reelected to a fifth term.
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References
^
a
b
"Helmke won't press; Bayh ain't talkin' " (PDF) . The Howey Political Report . 4 (29). July 9, 1998. Retrieved November 4, 2019 .
^
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b
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^
"Final look at mayoral races prior to '95 polling" (PDF) . The Howey Political Report . 2 (9). November 1, 1995.
^
"Indy mayoral race big Democratic blunder?" (PDF) . The Howey Political Report . 2 (8). October 24, 1995.
^
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^
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^
"Democratic Primary Mayoral Elections Fort Wayne" . www.in.gov . Indiana Secretary of State. July 21, 1999.
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^
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^
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^
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^
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^
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"Election Summary Report -- 2007 Municipal Primary Election" (PDF) .
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^ Galer, Sarah (November 6, 2007).
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^
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^
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^
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^
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