1967 Cleveland mayoral election

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1967 Cleveland mayoral election

← 1965 November 7, 1967 1969 →
 
Nominee Carl Stokes Seth Taft
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 129,318 127,467
Percentage 50.36% 49.64%

Mayor before election

Ralph S. Locher
Democratic

Elected Mayor

Carl Stokes
Democratic

The Cleveland mayoral election of 1967 saw the election of Carl Stokes.

Stokes was the first elected African American mayor of a major American city (Cleveland was, at the time, the ninth largest city in the United States).[1][2] His election came alongside the election of Richard G. Hatcher in the 1967 Gary, Indiana, mayoral election. Together, these were the first elections of African-Americans as mayors of cities over 100,000.[3] Stoke's election came in a city which was, at the time, 68% white.[2]

Nominations[edit]

Primaries were held on October 3.[4][5]

Democratic primary[edit]

Stokes unseated incumbent mayor Ralph S. Locher in the Democratic Party primary.

1967 Cleveland mayoral Democratic primary[4]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Carl Stokes 110,769 53.68%
Democratic Ralph S. Locher (incumbent) 92,033 44.60%
Democratic Frank P. Celeste 3,545 1.72%
Turnout 206,347

Republican primary[edit]

General election[edit]

1967 Cleveland mayoral election (general election)[5]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Carl Stokes 129,318 50.36%
Republican Seth Taft 127,467 49.64%
Turnout 256,785

References[edit]

  1. ^ "50 years ago: Cleveland's Carl Stokes elected first black mayor of a major U.S. city (vintage photos)". Cleveland.com. November 9, 2017. Retrieved May 9, 2019.
  2. ^ a b Bibb, Leon (October 8, 2020). "A Turning Point: The Cleveland election watched around the world". wkyc.com. WKYC. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  3. ^ Morial, Marc H. (July 31, 2017). "50 Years Of Black Mayors". HuffPost. Retrieved May 9, 2019.
  4. ^ a b "RaceID=548323". Our Campaigns. Retrieved May 9, 2019.
  5. ^ a b "RaceID=481269". Our Campaigns. Retrieved May 9, 2019.