On Tuesday night, Democratic mayoral candidate Joe Hogsett was elected mayor of Indianapolis. He won 62 percent of the vote, according to the Marion County Election Board, compared to Republican candidate Chuck Brewer, who received about 39 percent, and the independent candidate Sam Carson, with .62 percent of the vote.
Of the 663,209 registered voters, voter turnout was just over 22 percent with 150,451 people casting their ballot for the Municipal Election.
Indianapolis was formally introduced to mayoral candidate Hogsett on a chilly evening Nov. 12, as he launched his campaign from a podium inside the historic Landmark for Peace Memorial at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Park.
The former federal prosecutor from Rushville, Indiana, has lived and worked in Indianapolis for three decades and served as Indiana’s Secretary of State from 1989–1994.
Hogsett’s campaign focused on a comprehensive public safety plan to ensure streets are safe, expanding access to high-quality pre-K, securing jobs for residents and spending tax dollars efficiently and effectively.
During his speech after clinching the win, Hogsett said he was going to “celebrate a hard-earned victory.”
“… far more important is the recognition that in victory comes enormous responsibility. In our democracy, elections naturally create competition between us. And that is appropriate, until the election is over. But NOW is the time for us to come together again as we were intended to — regardless of party, or race, or faith or station in life, for we are ONE CITY.
“NOW is our opportunity to show that partisanship need not be perpetual, for we are . . . ONE CITY. NOW is our moment to cast aside the despair of violence and replace it with the hope of a summer job for a young person, for we are ONE CITY.
NOW is the day that we must bring policing back to the community, so that every officer knows their neighborhood and every neighborhood knows their officer, for we are ONE CITY. NOW is the hour that we must end the seemingly endless debates about our schools and retain and recruit the teachers that will actually improve them, for we are ONE CITY. NOW, in this very moment, we must ensure that if “INDY welcomes all,” so must we work to ensure that “INDIANA welcomes all,” for we are . . . ONE CITY.
“NOW is the time for us to dream once again, for we are ONE CITY.”
“Finally, to all the residents of our city, regardless of who you voted FOR, what part of the city you live IN, or what party you belong TO from the bottom of my heart, thank you.”
John Zody, chairman of the Indiana Democratic Party, released a statement following the mayoral race:
“From the beginning of his campaign, Joe Hogsett made it clear he understood today’s challenges in Indianapolis. His vision to invest in the safety and well-being of the city while also pledging to provide a quality, world-class education for all students within Indianapolis were winning issues and helped lead him to tonight. This victory marks a great moment for the City of Indianapolis, and the Indiana Democratic Party would like to extend a congratulations on what was a hard fought, and well-executed race.”
