2015 Houston mayoral election

The 2015 Houston mayoral election was decided by a runoff that took place on December 12, 2015, to elect the Mayor of Houston, Texas. As no candidate won a majority of the vote during the general election on November 3, 2015, the run off was held between the top two finishers, Sylvester Turner, who received 31.31% of the vote, and Bill King, who received 25.27%.^[1] In the run-off, Turner edged King, 51% to 49%, to become the 62nd Mayor of Houston.

2015 Houston mayoral election

← 2013 November 3, 2015 (first round) December 12, 2015 (runoff) 2019 →

Candidate Sylvester Turner Bill King Adrian Garcia First round 81,735 31.31% 65,968 25.27% 44,758 17.14% Runoff 108,389 50.96% 104,307 49.04% Eliminated   Candidate Ben Hall Chris Bell Steve Costello First round 24,805 9.50% 19,345 7.41% 17,546 6.72% Runoff Eliminated Eliminated Eliminated

Mayor before election Annise Parker Elected Mayor Sylvester Turner

Thirteen candidates appeared on the November ballot.^[2] A poll of likely voters conducted in June revealed that half of the city's likely voters were undecided, and that three of the candidates included in the poll, Sylvester Turner, Adrian Garcia and Chris Bell (all of whom were Democrats) were within the margin of error of the top two spots.^[3] However, the final results were significantly different from the early polling, with Independent King claiming the second runoff spot along with Turner.

Mayoral elections in Houston are biennial, with the winner being sworn-in in the following January for a four-year term. The election is officially nonpartisan, although the political parties still support and endorse candidates.

With the passage of voter-approved Proposition 2, the Mayor began a four-year term effective in January 2016.

Incumbent Mayor Annise Parker, a member of the Democratic Party who had been in office since 2010, was term-limited and could not run for re-election to a fourth term in office.^[4]

During the month between the general election and the runoff, Bell endorsed King, while Parker and Garcia, as well as then-U.S. President Barack Obama, endorsed Turner.^[5]

Candidates

Declared

• Chris Bell, former U.S. Representative, former Houston City Council member, candidate for Mayor in 2001 and nominee for Governor of Texas in 2006^[6][7]
• Bill King, attorney and former Mayor of Kemah^[8]
• Ben Hall, attorney, former Houston City Attorney and candidate for Mayor in 2013^[9][10]
• Sylvester Turner, State Representative and candidate for Mayor in 1991 and 2003^[6][11]
• Adrian Garcia, former Harris County Sheriff and former Houston City Councilmember^[6]
• Marty McVey, private equity executive^[9]
• Andrew Wood, ISA
• Stephen Costello, Houston City Councilmember^[12][13]

Withdrawn

• Oliver Pennington, Houston City Councilmember^[14][15]

Declined

• Clarence Bradford, Houston City Councilmember and former Chief of the Houston Police Department^[9][16]
• Chris Brown, Chief Deputy Houston City Controller (running for Controller)^[17]
• Bun B., rapper and political activist^[6]
• Jack Christie, Houston City Councilmember^[9][13]
• David Dewhurst, former Lieutenant Governor of Texas and candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2012^[16][18]
• Bill Frazer, candidate for Houston City Controller in 2013 (running for Controller)^[12]
• Michael Kubosh, Houston City Councilmember^[9][16][13]
• Laura Murillo, President and CEO of the Houston Hispanic Chamber of Commerce^[19]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s)	Sample size	Margin of error	Stephen Costello	Bill King	Sylvester Turner	Adrian Garcia	Chris Bell	Marty McVey	Ben Hall	Don't Know	Refused
UH Center for Public Policy & Rice University	5/20 - 6/21	500	± 4.5%	2%	2%	16%	12%	8%	0%	3%	50%	6%

General election

Held November 3, 2015 -- 50% needed to avoid runoff

Houston mayoral election, 2015^[20]

Candidate		Votes	%	±
✓	Sylvester Turner	81,735	31.31%	Runoff
✓	Bill King	65,968	25.27%	Runoff
	Adrian Garcia	44,758	17.14%
	Ben Hall	24,805	9.50%
	Chris Bell	19,345	7.41%
	Steve Costello	17,546	6.72%
	Hoc Thai Nguyen	2,325	0.89%
	Marty McVey	1,378	0.53%
	Demetria Smith	1,234	0.47%
	Victoria A Lane	908	0.35%
	Rafael Muñoz Jr.	515	0.20%
	Dale Steffes	302	0.12%
	Joe Ferreira	240	0.09%
Total votes		261,059	100%
Turnout			26.66%

Held December 12, 2015

Houston mayoral runoff election, 2015

Candidate		Votes	%	±
✓	Sylvester Turner	108,389	51%	+19%
	Bill King	104,307	49%	+24%
Turnout		212,696	100%

District	Turner  %	Turner votes	King  %	King votes
District A	36.63%	5,493	63.37%	9,500
District B	92.75%	17,413	7.25%	1,361
District C	44.62%	16,005	55.38%	19,865
District D	85.74%	20,246	14.26%	3,368
District E	21.78%	5,600	78.22%	20,110
District F	46.21%	4,008	53.79%	4,665
District G	19.64%	6,893	80.36%	28,194
District H	64.30%	7,355	35.70%	4,084
District I	62.05%	5,895	37.95%	3,606
District J	46.89%	3,013	53.11%	3,414
District K	68.71%	12,718	31.29%	5,792
Montgomery County	24.18%	22	75.82%	70
Fort Bend County	93.08%	3,728	6.92%	278

See also

• Politics of Houston
• Houston City Council

Notes

References

1. KTRK (November 4, 2015). "Turner, King headed for runoff for Houston mayor". ABC13 Houston. Retrieved June 9, 2021.
2. "2015 Candidates". The City of Houston. The City of Houston. Retrieved October 4, 2015.
3. "2015 Houston Mayoral Race". Houston Public Media. Houston Public Media. Retrieved October 4, 2015.
4. "Mayor Annise Parker reveals her third term agenda — and what she'd do with the Astrodome". Culture Map Houston. January 2, 2014. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
5. Svitek, Patrick (December 11, 2015). "Obama Endorses Turner in Houston Mayoral Runoff". Texas Tribune. Retrieved December 13, 2015.
6. . Houston Business Weekly. Archived from the original on November 25, 2014. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
7. "Chris Bell to announce mayoral bid Sunday". Houston Chronicle. January 22, 2015. Retrieved January 24, 2015.
8. Korsgard, Ryan. "Businessman Bill King announces run for Houston mayor". Click2Houston.com. Retrieved June 23, 2015.
9. "Fundraising rules may offer early advantage in mayor's race". The Houston Chronicle. November 12, 2014. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
10. "Ben Hall to run for Houston mayor in 2015". The Houston Chronicle. September 26, 2014. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
11. . My Fox Houston. February 11, 2014. Archived from the original on December 29, 2014. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
12. "And the 2015 race begins…". The Houston Chronicle. December 23, 2013. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
13. "2015 list of who might run for mayor is crowded and growing". The Houston Chronicle. August 3, 2014. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
14. "Mayoral hopeful delivers kickoff speech at Space Center Rotary". The Bay Area Citizen. April 28, 2014. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
15. Morris, Mike (April 17, 2015). "Councilman ends run for mayor". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved April 20, 2015.
16. "A dozen candidates actively weighing mayoral bids". The Houston Chronicle. December 12, 2014. Retrieved December 16, 2014.
17. "Chris Brown for Houston". Retrieved June 22, 2015.
18. "Dewhurst to start 'large public policy venture,' consider future run for office". Houston Chronicle. November 10, 2014. Retrieved December 19, 2014.
19. "Sole female candidate reconsiders run for Houston mayor". Houston Business Journal. September 12, 2014. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
20. James McAlester (November 5, 2011). . Channel 2 Houston. Archived from the original on November 17, 2015. Retrieved November 18, 2015.

External links

• Torn on the Bayou: What the chaotic mayor's race can tell us about Houston's future