2013 Charlotte mayoral election explained

Election Name:	2013 Charlotte mayoral election
Flag Image:	Flag of Charlotte, North Carolina.svg
Type:	presidential
Ongoing:	no
Previous Year:	2011
Next Year:	2015
Nominee1:	Patrick Cannon
Party1:	Democratic Party (United States)
Popular Vote1:	51,310
Percentage1:	53.06%
Nominee2:	Edwin Peacock III
Party2:	Republican Party (United States)
Popular Vote2:	45,036
Percentage2:	46.74%
Mayor
Before Election:	Patsy Kinsey
Before Party:	Democratic Party (United States)
After Election:	Patrick Cannon
After Party:	Democratic Party (United States)

The biennial Charlotte mayoral election was held on Tuesday, November 5, 2013. Primary elections were held on Tuesday, September 10, 2013.^[1] Unaffiliated voters were allowed to vote in either the Democratic or Republican primary.

On July 2, 2013, Anthony Foxx, a Democrat, announced that he would resign as mayor to become United States Secretary of Transportation. District 1 city councilperson Patsy Kinsey, also a Democrat, was named interim mayor the same day with the understanding that she would not stand in the mayoral election in November. Kinsey instead ran to regain the council seat she had vacated.

Democratic Party nominee Patrick Cannon, another member of the city council, won the general election to become the 55th mayor of Charlotte. However, only under four months into his term, on March 26, 2014, Cannon was arrested by the FBI on charges of accepting bribes (to which he later pleaded guilty) and resigned later that day, prompting the City Council to elect Dan Clodfelter to serve for the remainder of Cannon's term as the 57th Mayor of Charlotte.

Candidates

Democratic

• Mayor Pro Tempore/City Council member Patrick Cannon^[2]
• Gary Mitchell Dunn ^[3]
• City Council member James Mitchell, Jr.^[4]
• Lucille Puckett^[5]

Declined

• Mayor Anthony Foxx, a Democrat, declined to run for a third term in 2013^[6] and was then appointed United States Secretary of Transportation by President Barack Obama.^[7]
• Interim Mayor Patsy Kinsey^[8]

Republican

• Former City Councilman Edwin Peacock III^[9]
• David Michael Rice ^[10]

Results

Primaries

Candidates		Democratic Primary Election - Sept. 10 ^[11]
Candidate	Party	Votes	Percent
	Patrick Cannon		Democratic	14,025	55.70%
	James "Smuggie" Mitchell		Democratic	9,956	39.54%
	Gary Dunn		Democratic	631	2.51%
	Lucille Puckett		Democratic	567	2.25%

Candidates		Republican Primary Election - Sept. 10 ^[12]
Candidate	Party	Votes	Percent
	Edwin Peacock III		Republican	8,289	92.06%
	David Michael Rice		Republican	715	7.94%

General election

Candidates		General Election - Nov. 5 ^[13]
Candidate	Party	Votes	Percent
	Patrick Cannon		Democratic	51,310	53.06%
	Edwin B. Peacock III		Republican	45,036	46.74%

External links

• Mecklenburg County Board of Elections

Notes and References

1. http://charmeck.org/mecklenburg/county/BOE/elections/Pages/ElectionSchedule.aspx Election schedule
2. https://archive.today/20130616123819/http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2013/05/21/4054451/cannon-enters-mayors-race.html Charlotte Observer: Patrick Cannon announces run for Charlotte mayor
3. http://www.ncpoliticalnews.com/?p=2696 NCPoliticalNews.com
4. https://archive.today/20130710024507/http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2013/07/08/4153511/councilman-james-mitchell-files.html Charlotte Observer: Councilman James Mitchell files for mayor
5. http://apps.meckboe.org/CandidatePrint.aspx Mecklenburg Board of Elections - Candidate List
6. http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2013/04/05/3961645/charlotte-mayor-foxx-says-he.html Charlotte Observer: Charlotte mayor says he doesn't plan to run for re-election
7. Web site: Charlotte Observer: Senate votes 100-0 to confirm Anthony Foxx as transportation secretary today . 2013-06-27 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131102214757/http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2013/06/27/4132361/senate-expected-to-confirm-anthony.html . 2013-11-02 . dead .
8. Web site: Charlotte Observer: Charlotte gets 2nd female mayor as Foxx resigns . 2013-07-02 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131102000529/http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2013/07/01/4141469/kinsey-is-favorite-to-become-next.html# . 2013-11-02 . dead .
9. https://archive.today/20130616123838/http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2013/05/21/4053151/field-widens-in-charlotte-mayoral.html Charlotte Observer
10. http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2013/07/19/4175234/mitchell-cannon-to-headline-mayors.html Charlotte Observer: Mitchell, Cannon to headline mayor's race
11. http://results.enr.clarityelections.com/NC/47465/118311/Web01/en/summary.html NC Board of Elections Municipal Primary Results
12. http://results.enr.clarityelections.com/NC/47465/118311/Web01/en/summary.html NC Board of Elections Municipal Primary Results
13. http://results.enr.clarityelections.com/NC/Mecklenburg/48722/122393/Web01/en/summary.html NC Board of Elections Municipal Election Results for Mecklenburg County