2019 Tampa mayoral election

An election for Mayor of Tampa was held on March 5, 2019. The election is officially nonpartisan, and the winner is elected to a four-year term.

2019 Tampa mayoral election

← 2015 March 5 and April 23, 2019 2023 →

Candidate Jane Castor David Straz Jr. Harry Cohen First round 23,324 47.98% 7,522 15.47% 5,907 12.15% Runoff 38,772 73.10% 14,238 26.90% Eliminated   Candidate Ed Turanchik Dick Greco Jr Mike Suarez First round 4,320 8.89% 4,158 8.55% 2,462 5.06% Runoff Eliminated Eliminated Eliminated

Runoff results by precinct Castor:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Straz:      50–60% No votes:

Mayor before election Bob Buckhorn Elected mayor Jane Castor

Incumbent mayor Bob Buckhorn was not eligible to run for a third term.^[1] Buckhorn was first elected in 2011 (winning in the second round with 62.86% of the vote) and reelected unopposed in 2015. Jane Castor and David Straz headed off into a runoff election on April 23, 2019, as no candidate received the majority fifty percent.^[2][3] Castor defeated Straz in the runoff election, becoming mayor-elect of Tampa.

Candidates

Declared

• Harry Cohen, two term city councilman^[4]
• Jane Castor, former police chief^[5][6]
• Dick Greco Jr., retired judge and son of former mayor Dick A. Greco^[7]
• Michael Anthony Hazard, small business owner^[8]
• LaVaughn King, activist^[8]
• Topher Morrison, small business owner^[9][10]
• David Straz Jr., philanthropist^{[5][6][11][12]}
• Mike Suarez, member of Tampa City Council^[13][14]
• Ed Turanchik, former Hillsborough County commissioner^[15]

Did not file

• Ed Narain, former state representative^[16]
• Mike Griffin, former chairman of Tampa Chamber of Commerce^[16]

Withdrawn

• Sam Gibbons, graduate student and grandson of late U.S. representative Sam Gibbons^[17]

Endorsements

David Straz Jr.

• Northwest Florida Chapter of Black Women in Construction^[18]
• United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) 1625^[18]
• International Union of Operating Engineers Local 487^[18]
• Plumbers and Pipefitters Local Union 123^[18]
• International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 824^[19]

Jane Castor

• Former police chief Steve Hogue^[19]
• Former police chief Bennie Holder^[19]
• Former fire chief Tom Forward^[19]

Fundraising

Campaign finance reports as of November 21, 2018
Candidate (party)	Total receipts	Total expenditures
Jane Castor	$176,858.80	$32,524.63
Harry Cohen	$97,625.00	$38,217.37
Michael Anthony Hazard	$262.90	$122.90
LaVaughn King	$0.00	$0.00
Topher Morrison	$58,642.81	$44,421.93
David Straz Jr.	$1,592,940.00	$1,007,724.65
Mike Suarez	$49,788.00	$8,183.00
Ed Turanchik	$171,474.00	$76,401.36
[20]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Jane Castor	Harry Cohen	David Straz Jr.	Mike Suarez	Ed Turanchik	Dick Greco, Jr.	Other	Undecided
St. Pete Polls[21]	May 10, 2018	424	±4.8%	47.3%	5.4%	7.8%	5.5%	9.7%	-	8.3%	15.9%
St. Pete Polls[22]	June 24, 2018	496	±4.4%	40.9%	7.3%	10.6%	7.2%	7.2%	-	7.8%	18.9%
St. Pete Polls[23]	February 5, 2019	429	±4.7%	45.3%	7.5%	12.9%	6.0%	6.7%	9.3%	-	10.8%

Results

First round

2019 Tampa mayoral election results (first round)^[24]

Candidate		Votes	%
Jane Castor		23,324	47.98
David Straz Jr.		7,522	15.47
Harry Cohen		5,907	12.15
Ed Turanchik		4,320	8.89
Dick Greco Jr		4,158	8.55
Mike Suarez		2,462	5.06
Christopher "Topher" Morrison		839	1.73
Write-in		80	0.16
Total votes		48,612	100.00

Runoff

2019 Tampa mayoral election results (runoff)^[25]

Candidate		Votes	%
Jane Castor		38,859	73.10
David Straz Jr.		14,300	26.90
Total votes		53,159	100.00