Mayoral elections in Fort Wayne, Indiana

Elections are held in Fort Wayne, Indiana to elect the city's mayor. Currently, such elections are regularly scheduled to be held every four years, in the year immediately preceding that of United States presidential elections.

1987

1987 Fort Wayne mayoral election

←  1983 November 3, 1987 1991  →

Nominee Paul Helmke Winfield Moses Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 26,194% 24,179 Percentage 52.00% 48.00%

Mayor before election Winfield Moses Democratic Elected Mayor Paul Helmke Republican

The 1987 Fort Wayne mayoral election was held on November 3, 1987, to elect the mayor of Fort Wayne, Indiana, United States. It saw the election of Republican Paul Helmke, who unseated Democratic incumbent Winfield Moses.

1987 Fort Wayne mayoral election ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Paul Helmke	26,194	52.00
	Democratic	Winfield Moses (incumbent)	24,179	48.00
Total votes			50,373	100

1991

1991 Fort Wayne mayoral election

←  1987 November 5, 1991 1995  →

Nominee Paul Helmke Charlie Belch Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 21,415% 14,766 Percentage 59.19% 40.81%

Mayor before election Paul Helmke Republican Elected Mayor Paul Helmke Republican

The 1991 Fort Wayne mayoral election was held on November 5, 1991, to elect the mayor of Fort Wayne, Indiana, United States. It saw the reelection of Republican incumbent Paul Helmke.

1991 Fort Wayne mayoral election ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Paul Helmke (incumbent)	21,415	59.19
	Democratic	Charlie Belch	14,766	40.81
Total votes			36,181	100

1995

1995 Fort Wayne mayoral election

←  1991 November 7, 1995 1999  →

Nominee Paul Helmke Thomas Essex Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 21,909 11,033 Percentage 64.49% 32.48%

Mayor before election Paul Helmke Republican Elected Mayor Paul Helmke Republican

The 1995 Fort Wayne mayoral election was held on November 7, 1995, to elect the mayor of Fort Wayne, Indiana, United States. It saw the reelection of Republican incumbent Paul Helmke. As of 2023 ^[update] , this is the last time a Republican was elected Mayor of Fort Wayne.

Nominations

Democratic primary

Wayne Township Trustee Thomas Essex won the Democratic primary with 4,056 votes. ^[2]

Republican primary

Some Republicans speculated that Helmke, who had ties to the Clinton administration, might have been endangered in his primary. However, contrarily, he handily won his primary with 75% of the vote (7,717 votes). ^[2]

Libertarian nomination

Libertarians nominated William Kempf.

General election

The race was projected by Howey Political Report to be "safe Republican", with Helmke anticipated to be easily reelected. ^{[3] [4]}

1995 Fort Wayne mayoral election ^{[5] [6]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Paul Helmke (incumbent)	21,909	64.49
	Democratic	Thomas Essex	11,033	32.48
	Libertarian	William Kempf	1,029	3.03
Total votes			33,971	100

1999

1999 Fort Wayne mayoral election

←  1995 November 2, 1999 2003  →
Turnout	34%
Nominee Graham Richard Linda Buskirk Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 21,607 21,531 Percentage 50.07% 49.89%
Mayor before election Paul Helmke Republican Elected Mayor Graham Richard Democratic

The 1999 Fort Wayne mayoral election was held on November 2, 1999, to elect the mayor of Fort Wayne, Indiana, United States. It saw the election of Democrat Graham Richard, who defeated Republican Linda Buskirk by a narrow margin.

Nominations

Democratic primary

Running for the Democratic nomination was Graham Richard, Agnes Hopkins, and David Roach. ^[7]

1999 Fort Wayne Democratic mayoral primary ^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Graham Richard	5,568	79.13
	Democratic	Agnes Fitzgerald Hopkins	940	13.36
	Democratic	Dave "Fort Wayne's Most Wanted" Roach	529	7.52
Total votes			7,037	100

Republican primary

Running for the Republican nomination was Linda Buskirk and Allen County Sheriff Joe Squadrito. ^[7] While he had been seen as a frontrunner, ^[7] Squadrito ultimately lost the primary to Buskirk.

1999 Fort Wayne Republican mayoral primary ^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Linda Buskirk	9,540	52.10
	Republican	Joseph Martin Squadrito	8,772	47.90
Total votes			18,312	100

Independent candidates

Independent candidates Sherri Emerson and William B. Dinkins also ran.

General election

1999 Fort Wayne mayoral election ^{[10] [11]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Graham Richard	21,607	50.07
	Republican	Linda Buskirk	21,531	49.89
	Independent	Sherri Emerson	14	0.03
	Independent	William B. Dinkins	3	0.01
Turnout			43,155	34

2003

2003 Fort Wayne mayoral election

←  1999 November 4, 2003 [12] 2007  →

Nominee Graham Richard Linda Buskirk Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 27,279 19,717 Percentage 58.00% 41.92%

Mayor before election Graham Richard Democratic Elected Mayor Graham Richard Democratic

The 2003 Fort Wayne mayoral election was held on November 4 to elect the mayor of Fort Wayne, Indiana, US. It saw the reelection of Democratic incumbent Graham Richard, who again defeated Republican Linda Buskirk in what was a rematch of the 1999 election.

Nominations

Primary elections were held May 8. ^[13]

During its primaries, the voter turnout in Allen County, in which Fort Wayne is located, was 11.9%. ^[13]

Democratic primary

Democratic primary results ^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Graham Richard (incumbent)	5,061	88.85
	Democratic	Charles Eberhard	330	5.79
	Democratic	Thomas Allen Schrader	167	2.93
	Democratic	David Christopher "Papa" Roach	138	2.42
Total votes			5,696	100

Republican primary

Republican primary results ^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Linda Buskirk	8,233	88.26
	Republican	O. "Bro" Blye	1,095	11.74
Total votes			9,328	100

General election

The election was projected as a "tossup". ^[14] Despite the race having been projected to be close, Richard won a sizable victory over Buskirk. ^[15]

During the general election, the voter turnout in Allen County, in which Fort Wayne is located, was 30.63%. ^[12]

2003 was a good year for Democrats in Indiana's mayoral elections, with the party winning control of the mayoralties of all of the state's top seven most populous cities for the first time since 1959. ^[15] The Democratic Party also won control of the mayoralties in twenty of the state's thirty cities with populations above 25,000. ^[15] Additionally, in 2003, Democrats won more than 56% of partisan mayoral races in Indiana. ^[16]

During the general election, Allen County, where Fort Wayne is located, saw voter turnout of 25% in its various elections. ^[17]

2003 Fort Wayne mayoral election ^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Graham Richard (incumbent)	27,279	58.00
	Republican	Linda Buskirk	19,717	41.92
	Write-in	Others	38	0.08
Total votes			47,031	100

2007

2007 Fort Wayne mayoral election

←  2003 November 6, 2007 [18] 2011  →

Nominee Tom Henry Matt Kelty Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 31,740 21,163 Percentage 60% 40%

Mayor before election Graham Richard Democratic Elected Mayor Tom Henry Democratic

The 2007 Fort Wayne mayoral election was held on November 6 to elect the mayor of Fort Wayne, Indiana, United States. It saw the election of Democrat Tom Henry.

Incumbent mayor Graham Richard did not seek reelection to a third term.

Nominations

Primary elections were held May 8. ^[19]

Democratic primary

2007 Fort Wayne Democratic mayoral primary ^[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Tom Henry	4,921	82.44
	Democratic	Tom Cook	804	13.47
	Democratic	Frederick F. Steinke	244	4.09
Total votes			5,969	100

Republican primary

2007 Fort Wayne Republican mayoral primary ^[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Matt Kelty	9,123	50.29
	Republican	Nelson Peters	8,465	46.66
	Republican	Ivan R. Hood	328	1.81
	Republican	Teresa L. Licari	115	0.63
	Republican	Wilbert "Duke" Brown	111	0.61
Total votes			18,142	100

General election

In August, Kelty was indicted over perjury and campaign finance charges. While he denied wrongdoing, this story dominated the campaign. ^[20]

During the general election, Allen County, where Fort Wayne is located, saw voter turnout of 21% in its various elections. ^[21]

2007 Fort Wayne mayoral election ^[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Tom Henry	31,740	60.00
	Republican	Matt Kelty	21,163	40.00
Total votes			52,903	100

Aftermath

In October 2008, Kelty pleaded guilty to several of the campaign finance charges brought against him. ^[22]

Henry would go on to be reelected in 2011, 2015, and 2019.

2011

2011 Fort Wayne mayoral election

←  2007 November 8, 2011 [23] 2015  →

Nominee Tom Henry Paula Hughes Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 23,166 21,520 Percentage 49.85% 46.31%

Mayor before election Tom Henry Democratic Elected Mayor Tom Henry Democratic

The 2011 Fort Wayne mayoral election was held on November 8 to elect the mayor of Fort Wayne, Indiana, United States. It saw the reelection of Democrat Tom Henry.

Nominations

Primary elections were held May 3. ^[24]

During the primary elections, the voter turnout in Allen County, in which Fort Wayne is located, was 12.78%. ^[24]

Democratic primary

2011 Fort Wayne Democratic mayoral primary ^[24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Tom Henry (incumbent)	4,391	85.96
	Democratic	Tom Cook	346	6.77
	Democratic	Charles Eberhard	159	3.11
	Democratic	D. C. "Mr. Roachclip" Roach	116	2.27
	Democratic	Frederick F. Steinke	96	1.88
Total votes			5,108	100

Republican primary

2011 Fort Wayne Republican mayoral primary ^[24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Paula Hughes	9,241	55.67
	Republican	Elizabeth "Liz" Brown	4,188	25.23
	Republican	Eric Doden	3,031	18.26
	Republican	Wilbert "Duke" Brown	111	0.61
	Republican	Terrence Richard Walker	79	0.48
Total votes			16,601	100

General election

During the general election, the voter turnout in Allen County, in which Fort Wayne is located, was 26.21%. ^[23]

2011 Fort Wayne mayoral election ^[23]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Tom Henry (incumbent)	23,166	49.85
	Republican	Paula Hughes	21,520	46.31
	Independent	D. Haley Ahrend	1,782	3.83
Total votes			46,468	100

2015

2015 Fort Wayne mayoral election

←  2011 November 3, 2015 [25] 2019  →

Nominee Tom Henry Mitch Harper Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 23,769 18,068 Percentage 56.81% 43.19%

Mayor before election Tom Henry Democratic Elected Mayor Tom Henry Democratic

The 2015 Fort Wayne mayoral election was held on November 3 to elect the mayor of Fort Wayne, Indiana, United States. It saw the reelection of Democrat Tom Henry to a third term.

Nominations

Primary elections were held May 5. ^[26]

During the primary elections, the voter turnout in Allen County, in which Fort Wayne is located, was 9.82%. ^[26]

Democratic primary

2015 Fort Wayne Democratic primary ^[26]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Tom Henry (incumbent)	5,676	76.51
	Democratic	Richard "Rick" Stevenson Sr.	1,396	18.82
	Democratic	Tom M. Cook	219	2.95
	Democratic	David Christopher Roach	128	1.73
Total votes			7,419	100

Republican primary

2015 Fort Wayne Republican primary ^[26]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Mitch Harper	8,475	83.68
	Republican	William E. "Bill" Collins	705	6.96
	Republican	Robert "Rob" Bastian	693	6.84
	Republican	Frederick G. Osheskie Sr.	255	2.52
Total votes			10,128	100

General election

During the general election, the voter turnout in Allen County, in which Fort Wayne is located, was 22.49%. ^[25]

2015 Fort Wayne mayoral election ^[25]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Tom Henry (incumbent)	23,769	56.81
	Republican	Mitch Harper	18,068	43.19
Total votes			41,837	100

2019

2019 Fort Wayne mayoral election

←  2015 November 5, 2019 2023  →

Nominee Tom Henry Tim Smith Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 32,571 20,643 Percentage 61.74% 38.26%

Mayor before election Tom Henry Democratic Elected Mayor Tom Henry Democratic

The 2019 Fort Wayne mayoral election was held on November 5 to elect the mayor of Fort Wayne, Indiana, United States. Incumbent mayor Tom Henry was reelected to a fourth term.

Nominations

Primary elections were held May 7. ^[27]

Democratic primary

Democratic primary results ^[27]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Tom Henry (incumbent)	6,797	86.17
	Democratic	Gina M. Burgess	875	11.09
	Democratic	Tommy A. Schrader	216	2.74
Total votes			7,888	100

Republican primary

2019 Fort Wayne Republican mayoral primary ^[27]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Tim Smith	9,065	56.39
	Republican	John Crawford	6,776	42.15
	Republican	David Christopher Roach	235	1.46
Total votes			16,076	100

General election

Earlier in the campaign Henry was thought to be vulnerable, but the race ended up not being close. In his victory speech, Henry announced that it would be his last term as mayor, though he later decided to run for a fifth term against businessman Tim Didier for 2023. He was sworn in for his fourth term on January 1, 2020. His fourth term will expire on January 1, 2024.

2019 Fort Wayne mayoral election ^[28]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Thomas C. Henry (Incumbent)	32,571	61.21%	+4.40%
	Republican	Timothy Smith	20,643	38.79%	-4.40%
	Write-in				—
Turnout			53,214
Majority			11,928	22.42%	100.00%
	Democratic hold		Swing

2023

2023 Fort Wayne mayoral election

←  2019 November 7, 2023 2027 →

Nominee Tom Henry Thomas Didier Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 23,945 22,210 Percentage 51.88% 48.12%

Mayor before election Tom Henry Democratic Elected Mayor Tom Henry Democratic

The 2023 Fort Wayne mayoral election was held on November 5 to elect the mayor of Fort Wayne, Indiana, United States. Incumbent mayor Tom Henry was reelected to a fifth term.

2023 Fort Wayne mayoral election ^[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Thomas C. Henry (Incumbent)	23,945	51.88%	-9.86%
	Republican	Thomas Didier	22,210	48.12%	+9.86%
	Write-in				—
Turnout			46,155	100.00%
Majority			1,735	3.76%	100.00%
	Democratic hold		Swing

References

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2. "Upsets, resilience mark mayoral races" (PDF). The Howey Political Report. 1 (32). May 4, 1995.
3. "Final look at mayoral races prior to '95 polling" (PDF). The Howey Political Report. 2 (9). November 1, 1995.
4. "Indy mayoral race big Democratic blunder?" (PDF). The Howey Political Report. 2 (8). October 24, 1995.
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6. "Helmke won't press; Bayh ain't talkin'" (PDF). The Howey Political Report. 4 (29). July 9, 1998. Retrieved November 4, 2019.
7. "Indiana Racing Form INDIANA MAYORAL RACES 1999" (PDF). The Howey Political Report. 5 (30). April 15, 1999. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
8. "Democratic Primary Mayoral Elections Fort Wayne". www.in.gov. Indiana Secretary of State. July 21, 1999. Archived from the original on May 19, 2009. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
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12. "MUNICIPAL ELECTION ELECTION SUMMARY REPORT" (PDF). Allen County, Indiana. November 6, 2003. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
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14. "Indiana 2003 Racing Form Indiana 2003 Mayoral Races" (PDF). The Howey Political Report. 9 (26). February 27, 2003. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
15. Howey, Brian A. (November 5, 2003). "Democrats control top 7 Hoosier cities" (PDF). The Howey Political Report. 10 (14). Retrieved December 11, 2019.
16. Marschall, Melissa; Lappie, John (May 2016). "Mayoral Elections in Indiana 2003–2015" (PDF). Rice Kinder Institute for Urban Research. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
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20. Galer, Sarah (November 6, 2007). "Comeback kid: Ballard upsets Peterson to win Indy mayor's race". 13 WTHR Indianapolis. WTHR-TV. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
21. "General Election Turnout and Registration" (PDF). www.in.gov. Indiana Secretary of State.
22. "Kelty pleads guilty, avoids jail". KPCNews. October 21, 2008. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
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