Nonpartisan elections are currently held every four years, in the year preceding a United States presidential election, to elect the mayor of Madison, Wisconsin.
1874
| colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;"| General election, April 7, 1874
1875
Silas U. Pinney was re-elected in 1875.
1876
| colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;"| General election, April 4, 1876
1969 and 1971
William Dyke was elected in both 1969 and 1971
1973 Paul Soglin (a member of the Madison Common Council) won an upset victory over incumbent mayor William Dyke.
| colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;"| Primary election, March 6, 1973
| colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;"| General election, April 3, 1973
1975 and 1977 Paul Soglin won re-election.
1979, 1981
1983
The 1989 Madison mayoral election saw the election of Joseph Sensenbrenner.
Both Sensenbrenner and his general election opponent, Robert "Toby" Reynolds, were lawyers. Sensenbrenner was a deputy attorney general of Wisconsin, and also formerly worked as an aide to Patrick J. Lucey during Lucey's governorship. Both Sensenbrenner and Reynolds were considered to be liberal members of the Democratic Party. The election was considered the most major local election held in the state in 1983. It coincided on the ballot with the 1983 Wisconsin Supreme Court election.
In December 1982, incumbent Madison Mayor Joel Skornicka announced he would not run for a third term. Two weeks later, Sensenbrenner announced his candidacy. Sensenbrenner quickly earned the endorsement of the outgoing Mayor and inherited many of his campaign supporters and staff. Sensenbrenner's campaign emphasized his experience in state government and management skills, and, in the crowded 8-person nonpartisan primary, he came in a close second to former alderman and past mayoral candidate Robert Reynolds. Reynolds and Sensenbrenner faced off in the April election, with both running on a liberal Democratic platform. Sensenbrenner continued to emphasize his managerial acumen, while Reynolds focused more on his desire to lead and motivate the city's various constituencies. Sensenbrenner prevailed with 53% of the vote in the April general election.
| colspan="5" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;"| Nonpartisan primary (February 15, 1983)
| colspan="5" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;"| General election (April 5, 1983)
1985
| colspan="5" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;"| General election (April 2, 1985)
1987
| colspan="5" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;"| General election (April 7, 1987)
1989
In the 1989 Madison mayoral election, incumbent mayor Sensenbrenner sought reelection while advocating for a proposed convention center on Lake Monona. He was challenged by former mayor Soglin (who had served six years as mayor in the 1970s) and four other candidates. Sensenbrenner faced attacks throughout the race on the prioritization of the city's convention center project (seen as a luxury pavilion for the city's elites) over the interests and services for working class downtown and near-downtown districts. Sensenbrenner barely survived the February primary, with only 50 votes separating him from 3rd place finisher Rick Berg. Also on the April election ballot was a city referendum for raising property taxes to pay for Sensenbrenner's proposed convention center. Sensenbrenner and the referendum were defeated by a similar margin. Despite the setback for the convention center, it did eventually get built. As mayor, Soglin quickly reversed his position from the campaign, and the convention center, now known as Monona Terrace, was opened in 1997.
| colspan="5" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;"| Nonpartisan primary (February 21, 1989)
| colspan="5" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;"| General election (April 4, 1989)
1991, 1993, 1995
Paul Soglin was re-elected
1997 (special)
The 1997 Madison mayoral special election was held February 17 and April 1, 1997, to elect the mayor of Madison, Wisconsin. It was held after the resignation of incumbent mayor Paul Soglin. It saw the election of Susan J. M. Bauman.
Candidates Ray Allen, Madison School Board member Richard H. Anderson Susan J. M. Bauman, alderperson on the Madison Common Council Wayne Bigelow, president of the Madison Common Council John Hendrick, supervisor on the Dane County Board since 1994 Mary Lang-Sollinger, community activist and political fundraiser Tom Neale David Travis, member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
Results The February county and city primaries saw 42,483 ballots cast in Madison, reported as a turnout of 26% (compared to election-eve voter registration).
The April county and city general elections saw 52,619 ballots cast in Madison, reported as a turnout of 32% (compared to election-eve voter registration).
1999
The 1999 Madison mayoral election was held April 9, 1999, to elect the mayor of Madison, Wisconsin. It saw the reelection of incumbent mayor Susan J. M. Bauman.
Since only two candidates ran, no primary was held.
Results The April county and city general saw 45,248 ballots cast in Madison, reported as a turnout of 31% (compared to election-eve voter registration).
2003
The 2003 Madison mayoral election was held February 20 and April 4, 2003, to elect the mayor of Madison, Wisconsin. It saw the election of Dave Cieslewicz. Incumbent mayor Susan J. M. Bauman was eliminated in the primary.
Candidates Susan J. M. Bauman, incumbent mayor Dave Cieslewicz, former member of the Dane County Board of Supervisors Davy Mayer Will Sandstrom Paul R. Soglin, former mayor Bert G. Zipperer
Results
2007
The 2007 Madison mayoral election was held February 22 and April 5, 2007, to elect the mayor of Madison, Wisconsin. It saw the reelection of incumbent mayor Dave Cieslewicz.
Candidates Ray Allen, Madison School Board member and 1997 mayoral candidate Dave Cieslewicz, incumbent mayor Peter Munoz Will Sandstrom, 2003 mayoral candidate
Results
2011
The 2011 Madison mayoral election was held April 4, 2003, to elect the mayor of Madison, Wisconsin. It saw former mayor Paul Soglin return to the mayoralty by unseating incumbent mayor Dave Cieslewicz.
The primary and general election both coincided with those for a high-profile state supreme court race.
Candidates John Blotz Dave Cieslewicz, incumbent mayor Dennis Amadeus de Nure Nick Hart Paul R. Soglin, former mayor
Results
2015
The 2015 Madison mayoral election was held February 17 and April 7, 2015, to elect the mayor of Madison, Wisconsin. It saw the reelection of incumbent mayor Paul Soglin.
Candidates Richard V. Brown Sr. Christopher Daly Bridget Maniaci, former 2nd district member of the Madison Common Council (2009–2013) Scott Resnick, 8th district member of the Madison Common Council since 2011 and tech executive Paul Soglin, incumbent mayor
Results
2019
The 2019 Madison mayoral election was held February 19 and April 2, 2019, to elect the mayor of Madison, Wisconsin. It saw the election of Satya Rhodes-Conway, who unseated incumbent mayor Paul Soglin. Conway became the second woman and the first openly-gay individual elected mayor in the city's history.
Candidates Maurice "Mo" Cheeks, 10th district member of the Madison Common Council since 2013 and vice president of Business Development at MIOsoft Nick Hart Satya Rhodes-Conway, former 12th district member of the Madison Common Council Raj Shukla Paul Soglin, incumbent mayor
Results
2023
The 2023 Madison mayoral election was held on April 4, 2023, to elect the mayor of Madison, Wisconsin.
A primary election was held on February 21, 2023, to narrow down the candidates to two. It saw record turnout due to the concurrent primary for the 2023 Wisconsin Supreme Court election. Satya Rhodes-Conway and Gloria Reyes qualified for the general election, while Scott Kerr was eliminated. Daniel Howell Jr., a write-in candidate, planned on running as a write-in candidate for the general election in addition to the primary.
Candidates Daniel Howell Jr., caseworker and former Wisconsin Badgers football player (write-in) Scott Kerr, traffic engineer (endorsed Reyes in the runoff) Gloria Reyes, former deputy mayor and president of the Madison Board of Education Satya Rhodes-Conway, incumbent mayor
Forums +2023 Madison mayoral candidate forumsDateHostLinkNonpartisanNonpartisanNonpartisanNonpartisanKey: Participant Absent Not invited Invited Out of raceDaniel Howell Jr.Scott KerrGloria ReyesSatya Rhodes-Conway1January 30, 2023Community associationsYouTube 2January 31, 2023Urban League of Greater MadisonYouTube 3February 27, 2023Wisconsin Policy ForumYouTube
Endorsements
Results
2027 The 2027 Madison mayoral election will be held April 6, 2027 to elect the mayor of Madison, Wisconsin, with a primary on February 16, 2027. Incumbent mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway is running for re-election to a third term. Candidates Syed Abbas, former 12th district member (2019-2022) and president of the Madison Common Council (April 2021 to April 2022) Brian Benford, former 6th district member of the Madison Common Council (2021-2023) Kaleem Caire, founder and CEO of One City Schools Jonny Hinds, local business owner April Kigeya, former 15th district member of the Dane County Board of Supervisors (2022-2026) Satya Rhodes-Conway, incumbent mayor Larry Williams, hospitality and food service director
Notes
References