View source for 2021 St. Louis mayoral election

{{wikipedia|2021 St. Louis mayoral election}}
{{see also|STL Approves|St. Louis}}
The '''2021 St. Louis mayoral election''' occurred in two stages, with an [[approval voting]] primary on March 2, 2021, and a two-candidate general election on April 6, 2021.<ref name="stl gov">{{Cite web |url=https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/elections/ |title=Upcoming Elections |website=[[w:Government of St. Louis|Government of St. Louis]] |access-date=December 28, 2020|url-status=live}}</ref> Incumbent Democratic mayor Lyda Krewson was eligible to seek re-election to a second term in office, but chose to retire.<ref name="krewson">{{Cite web |url=https://www.kmov.com/news/st-louis-mayor-lyda-krewson-to-retire-will-not-seek-re-election/article_31ebbe30-29e2-11eb-ba3c-cf2c3b75c0b5.html |title=St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson to retire, will not seek re-election |date=November 18, 2020 |website=[[w:KMOV|KMOV]] |access-date=December 28, 2020|url-status=live}}</ref> In a primary field of four candidates, St. Louis Treasurer Tishaura Jones and Alderwoman Cara Spencer advanced to the general election.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|last=Schlinkmann|first=Mark|title=Tishaura Jones, Cara Spencer advance to St. Louis mayoral runoff|url=https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/tishaura-jones-cara-spencer-advance-to-st-louis-mayoral-runoff/article_94495271-2e1b-59e7-b669-25a4a0dbf9de.html|date=March 3, 2021|url-status=live|access-date=2021-04-06|website=[[w:St. Louis Post-Dispatch|St. Louis Post-Dispatch]]|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210303042015/https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/tishaura-jones-cara-spencer-advance-to-st-louis-mayoral-runoff/article_94495271-2e1b-59e7-b669-25a4a0dbf9de.html |archive-date=March 3, 2021 }}</ref> Jones narrowly defeated Spencer in the general election, becoming the first African-American woman elected to the office of mayor.<ref>{{Cite web|last=KSDK Digital|title=Tishaura Jones makes history as first Black woman to be St. Louis mayor|url=https://www.ksdk.com/article/news/politics/tishaura-jones-first-black-woman-st-louis-mayor/63-8a5f90e3-2db2-49b1-a5ec-f86fe268f638|url-status=live|access-date=April 6, 2021|date=April 6, 2021|website=[[w:KSDK|KSDK]]|language=en-US}}</ref>

==Primary election==
{| class="wikitable" style="background:transparent; width=40%;" colspan="4"
! colspan="5" |March 2, 2021
Primary Election Results<ref name="official primary results22">{{cite web |title=FINAL OFFICIAL RESULTS - BY APPROVAL PERCENTAGE |url=https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/government/departments/board-election-commissioners/documents/election-results/upload/Mar21-Final-Official-Summary.pdf |website=stlouis-mo.gov |publisher=Board of Election Commissioners for the City of St. Louis |access-date=May 4, 2022|url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
|
|[[File:Tishaura Jones tight crop.jpg|border|240x160px|Tishaura Jones]]
'''Tishaura Jones'''
|[[File:Cara Spencer crop.jpg|border|240x160px|Cara Spencer]]
'''Cara Spencer'''
|[[File:Lewis_E._Reed_crop.jpg|frameless|149x149px]]
Lewis E. Reed
|[[File:Andrew Jones 2021 logo.png|border|x80px]]
Andrew Jones
|-
|Party preference:
|[[File:Democratic Disc.svg|frameless|100x100px]]
[[Democratic Party]]
|[[File:Democratic Disc.svg|frameless|100x100px]]
[[Democratic Party]]
|[[File:Democratic Disc.svg|frameless|100x100px]]
[[Democratic Party]]
|[[File:Republican Disc.svg|frameless|100x100px]]
[[Republican Party]]
|-
|
Votes of approval: 
|'''25,388'''
|'''20,659'''
|17,186
|6,428
|-
|Approval percentage:
|'''56.96%'''
|'''46.35%'''
|38.56%
|14.42%
|-
|[[English Wikipedia]] article:
|[[w:Tishaura Jones|Tishaura Jones]]
|[[w:Cara Spencer|Cara Spencer]]
|[[w:Lewis E. Reed|Lewis E. Reed]]
|[[w:Andrew Jones (Missouri politician)|Andrew Jones]]
|-
|[[Wikidata]] entry:
|[[W:wikidata:Q7809573|Q7809573]]
|[[w:wikidata:Q99674856|Q99674856]]
|[[W:wikidata:Q16194768|Q16194768]]
|
|-
! colspan="5" |''' Total Vote Cards Cast: 44,571 '''
|}St. Louis held its first-ever [[approval voting]] primary on March 2, 2021. The new approval-based primary was a non-partisan election, though candidates were allowed to state their party preference on the ballot. Three of the candidates (Tishaura Jones, Cara Spencer, and Lewis Reed) all declared their party preference "[[Democratic Party]]".  Tishaura Jones was the Treasurer of St. Louis since 2013. Reed was the President of the St. Louis Board of Aldermen since 2007, and a candidate for mayor in 2013 and 2017 (see [[w:2013 St. Louis mayoral election]] and [[w:2017 St. Louis mayoral election]] on English Wikipedia).  Another candidate, Andrew Jones, declared that he preferred the [[Republican Party]].  

Because they received the largest number of votes of approval (thus having the highest approval rating as measured by the ballots), Tishuara Jones and Cara Spencer advanced to the general election. Lewis E. Reed (who also preferred the [[Democratic Party]]) and Andrew Jones (who preferred the [[Republican Party]]) were not allowed to have their name printed on the general election ballot. 

Reed has offered his support for an effort to repeal approval voting.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Schlinkmann|first=Mark|title=Effort underway to repeal ‘approval voting’ in St. Louis, replace it with new system|url=https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/effort-underway-to-repeal-approval-voting-in-st-louis-replace-it-with-new-system/article_2c3bad65-1e46-58b6-8b9f-1d7f49d0aaeb.html|access-date=2022-02-26|website=STLtoday.com|language=en}}</ref>

==General election ==
St. Louis held its general election on Tuesday, April 6, 2021, reporting results that evening. The two candidates on the ballot (Tishaura Jones and Cara Spencer) had won the primary election a month prior.  On April 6, Tishaura Jones defeated Cara Spencer to earn her first term as mayor of St. Louis, winning by over two-thousand votes.<ref>{{Cite news|date=April 7, 2021|title=7 Takeaways From A History-Making Election Night In St. Louis|work=[[w:St. Louis Public Radio|St. Louis Public Radio]]|url=https://news.stlpublicradio.org/government-politics-issues/2021-04-07/7-takeaways-from-a-history-making-election-night-in-st-louis|access-date=February 5, 2021|url-status=live}}</ref> This constituted nearly 4% of the people that voted that evening.<ref name=":1">{{cite web|title=Summary For CITYWIDE, All Counters, All Races FINAL OFFICIAL RESULTS|url=https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/government/departments/board-election-commissioners/documents/election-results/upload/Apr21-Final-Official-Summary.pdf|access-date=23 July 2021|publisher=St. Louis Board of Election Commissioners}}</ref>

Leading up to the early April election, over 20% of voters told pollsters that they were undecided.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-03-30|title=Recent Poll Shows Tishaura Jones has Slight Lead in St. Louis City Mayor’s Contest|url=https://www.showmevictories.com/news/recent-poll-shows-tishaura-jones-has-slight-lead-in-st-louis-city-mayors-contest/|access-date=2022-02-05|website=Show Me Victories|language=en-US}}</ref>

*Show Me Victories - March 4–6, 2021 - 40%/35%/25% (Jones/Spencer/undecided) <ref>https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/poll-shows-jones-spencer-running-close-in-mayoral-race/article_1d6b4b59-447c-5b02-868d-0686f385fcb4.html</ref>
*Show Me Victories - March 25–28, 2021 - 42%/37%/21% (Jones/Spencer/undecided) <ref>https://www.showmevictories.com/news/recent-poll-shows-tishaura-jones-has-slight-lead-in-st-louis-city-mayors-contest/</ref>
{| class="wikitable" style="background:transparent; width=40%;" colspan="4"
|-
! colspan="3" |April 6, 2021
General Election Results<ref name=":12">{{cite web|title=Summary For CITYWIDE, All Counters, All Races FINAL OFFICIAL RESULTS|url=https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/government/departments/board-election-commissioners/documents/election-results/upload/Apr21-Final-Official-Summary.pdf|access-date=23 July 2021|publisher=St. Louis Board of Election Commissioners}} Note: Using the "cards counted" number for percentages in table rather than the Board of Election Commissioners reported percentages.</ref>

(top two candidates from primary election)
|-
|'''Tishaura Jones'''
'''Choose-one votes: 30,166'''

'''Percentage of cards cast: 51.38%'''
| Cara Spencer
Choose-one votes: 27,865

Percentage of cards cast: 47.46%
|Write-in candidates
Choose-one votes: 319

Percentage of cards cast: 0.54%
|-
|[[File:Tishaura Jones tight crop.jpg|border|240x160px|Tishaura Jones]]
Party preference:

[[Democratic Party]]

<small>Wikipedia:</small> 

<small>[[w:Tishaura Jones|Tishaura Jones]]</small>
|[[File:Cara Spencer crop.jpg|border|240x160px|Cara Spencer]]
Party preference:

[[Democratic Party]]

<small>Wikidata:</small>

<small>[[w:wikidata:Q99674856|wikidata:Q99674856]]</small>
|[[File:St. Louis, Missouri mayoral election results by ward, 2021.svg|frameless|230x230px]]
St. Louis, Missouri mayoral election

Results by ward

April 2021

[[W:commons:File:St. Louis, Missouri mayoral election results by ward, 2021.svg|Wikimedia Commons]]
|-
! colspan="3" |''' Total Vote Cards Cast: 58,707 '''
|}

Tishaura Jones defeated Cara Spencer by a margin of nearly 4%.<ref name=":1" /> Jones' margin of victory largely came from the northern half St. Louis, while Spencer was stronger in the southern half.<ref name="KSDK">{{cite web|url=https://www.ksdk.com/article/news/politics/elections/st-louis-mayoral-election-voter-wards-analysis/63-542b872a-14cc-4869-be64-f7e58522dbe0|title=Analysis: Ward-by-ward breakdown of how St. Louis voted for mayor|website=KSDK|last1=Richey|first1=Erin|date=April 7, 2021|accessdate=April 10, 2021}}</ref> Jones received her largest margins in wards where Lewis Reed had come second in the primary.<ref name="KSDK" />

==See also==
See [[w:2021 St. Louis mayoral election]] on English Wikipedia to learn more about this election.

==References==
<references />

[[Category:Mayoral elections in the United States]]
[[Category:Approval voting elections]]