| Election Name: | 2013 Harrisburg mayoral election |
| Country: | Pennsylvania |
| Type: | presidential |
| Vote Type: | Popular |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 2009 Harrisburg mayoral election |
| Previous Year: | 2009 |
| Next Election: | 2017 Harrisburg mayoral election |
| Next Year: | 2017 |
| Image1: | Eric Papenfuse 3 2015.JPG |
| Image1 Size: | 140px |
| Candidate1: | Eric Papenfuse |
| Party1: | Democratic Party (United States) |
| Popular Vote1: | 3,623 |
| Percentage1: | 49.7% |
| Image2 Size: | 140px |
| Candidate2: | Dan Miller |
| Party2: | Republican Party (United States) |
| Popular Vote2: | 2,333 |
| Percentage2: | 32% |
| Mayor | |
| Before Election: | Linda D. Thompson |
| Before Party: | Democratic Party (United States) |
| Posttitle: | Mayor |
| After Election: | Eric Papenfuse |
| After Party: | Democratic Party (United States) |
The 2013 mayoral election in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania was held on November 5, 2013, and resulted in Eric Papenfuse, a local bookstore owner and Democrat, being elected to his first term.[1]
Incumbent first term Democratic mayor Linda D. Thompson was extremely unpopular. In large part due to her calling City Controller Dan Miller, the first openly gay official in Harrisburg, a “homosexual, evil little man” along with other inflammatory rhetoric.[2] [3]
Thompson sought re-election but would face challenges in the Democratic Primary in the form of Dan Miller, the aforementioned City Controller, and Eric Papenfuse, a local bookstore owner.[4] Papenfuse would win the nomination but Miller would run for mayor under the Republican ticket as the party failed to field a candidate.[5] [6] Papenfuse would go on to defeat Miller a second time during the general election and become Harrisburg's new mayor.[7] [8]