By Art Slater and Brett Rosenberg
November 22, 2004

In nearly 70 percent of the settled races for mayor across the United States, incumbents were returned to office. As U.S. Mayor goes to press, incumbent San Diego Mayor Richard M. Murphy was in a tough battle with write-in candidate Donna Frye. In Jersey City, City Councilman Jerramiah Healy was leading Assemblyman Louis Manzo, who declined to concede until provisional and absentee votes were counted. This election cycle also saw the return to public office of former Virginia Governor L. Douglas Wilder, who won the Richmond mayoral election with 79 percent of the vote against incumbent Rudolph C. McCollum, Jr. Wilder made history by becoming the first and only African-American governor in the United States. Baltimore Mayor Martin O-Malley defeated his challenger decisively with about 88 percent of the vote.

Below is the status of 250 mayoral elections around the country, 143 have been completed, 102 have yet to be selected by city councils and 5 elections were undecided when this newspaper went to print. For further up-to-date election news, go to usmayors.org.