| Flag Image: | Flag of Portland, Oregon.svg |
| Type: | presidential |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 2008 Portland, Oregon, mayoral election |
| Previous Year: | 2008 |
| Next Election: | 2016 Portland, Oregon, mayoral election |
| Colour1: | B3BCC8 |
| Colour2: | B3BCC8 |
| Colour3: | B3BCC8 |
| Next Year: | 2016 |
| 1Blank: | First-round vote |
| 2Blank: | First-round percentage |
| 3Blank: | Second-round vote |
| 4Blank: | Second-round percentage |
| Image1: | File:Charlie Hales in 2011 (1).jpg |
| Nominee1: | Charlie Hales |
| 1Data1: | 50,403 |
| 2Data1: | 37.22% |
| 3Data1: | 163,522 |
| 4Data1: | 61.2% |
| Nominee2: | Jefferson Smith |
| 1Data2: | 44,484 |
| 2Data2: | 32.85% |
| 3Data2: | 83,741 |
| 4Data2: | 31.3% |
| Image3: | File:Eileen_Brady.jpg |
| Nominee3: | Eileen Brady |
| 1Data3: | 29,427 |
| 2Data3: | 21.73% |
| Mayor | |
| Before Election: | Sam Adams |
| After Election: | Charlie Hales |
On Tuesday, November 6, 2012, an election was held in Portland, Oregon, to elect the mayor. Charlie Hales was elected, defeating Jefferson Smith. Incumbent mayor Sam Adams did not seek a second term.[1]
Portland uses a nonpartisan system for local elections, in which all voters are eligible to participate. All candidates are listed on the ballot without any political party affiliation.
All candidates meeting the qualifications competed in a blanket primary election on Tuesday, May 15, 2012.[2] As no candidate received an absolute majority, the top two finishers advanced to a runoff in the November 6 general election.[3] In the general election, former city commissioner Charlie Hales defeated state representative Jefferson Smith with approximately 61% of the vote.[4]
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | class=small | Sample size | Margin of error | Sam Adams | Tre Arrow | Eileen Brady | Max Brumm | Bill Dant | Charlie Hales | Mike Reese | Jefferson Smith | Other | Undecided | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DMH Research | May 10–12, 2012 | 500 | ± 4.4% | — | — | 16% | — | — | align=center | 32% | — | 24% | 8% | 21% | |||
| SurveyUSA/KATU | May 4–7, 2012 | 563 | ± 4.2% | — | — | align=center | 28% | — | — | 25% | — | 27% | 5% | 15% | |||
| Elway/KGW/The Oregonian | May 2–6, 2012 | 400 | ± 5.0% | — | — | 16% | — | — | align=center | 29% | — | 28% | 6% | 18% | |||
| DHM Research/KPTV/OPB | April 28–30, 2012 | 400 | ± 4.9% | — | — | 23% | — | — | align=center | 25% | — | 20% | 6% | 28% | |||
| 18% | — | 21% | — | — | align=center | 22% | — | 17% | — | 23% | |||||||
| SurveyUSA/KATU | align=center | April 10–12, 2012 | align=center | 548 | align=center | ± 4.3% | — | — | align=center | 34% | — | — | 22% | — | 15% | 9% | 21% |
| SurveyUSA/KATU | align=center | February 23–26, 2012 | align=center | 555 | align=center | ± 4.2% | — | 7% | align=center | 25% | 2% | 3% | 16% | — | 10% | 8% | 28% |
| SurveyUSA/KATU | November 2–7, 2011 | 537 | ± 4.3% | — | — | align=center | 23% | — | — | 19% | - | 14% | — | align=center | 44% | ||
| — | — | 19% | — | — | 13% | align=center | 20% | 11% | — | align=center | 38% |
The November 6 general election was a race between Charlie Hales and Jefferson Smith.
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | class=small | Sample size | Margin of error | Charlie Hales | Jefferson Smith | Other | Undecided | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SurveyUSA | October 7–9, 2012 | 513 | ± 4.4% | align=center | 37% | 30% | — | 33% | ||
| SurveyUSA | September 14–18, 2012 | 506 | ± 4.4% | align=center | 34% | 29% | — | align=center | 37% |