All Columbia municipal elections are required to be non-partisan, but most candidates can be affiliated with political parties. Columbia uses a two-round system, where election runoffs are held if no candidate obtains the majority of the vote.
The 2010 Columbia mayoral special election took place on April 6, 2010, to elect the next mayor of Columbia, South Carolina. Incumbent Democratic Mayor Bob Coble did not seek re-election. A runoff was held on April 21, 2010, since no candidate surpassed 50%. In the runoff DemocratStephen K. Benjamin defeated Republican candidate Kirkman Finlay III. Daniel became the first African American mayor of Columbia.[1]
Mayor of Columbia, 2010 (Special first round) UNOFFICIAL RESULTS[2]
The 2013 Columbia mayoral election took place on November 5, 2013, to elect the mayor of Columbia, South Carolina. Incumbent Democratic Mayor Stephen K. Benjamin won re-election to a full term. There was no need for a runoff election since Benjamin received more than 50% of the vote.
The 2021 Columbia mayoral election took place on November 2, 2021, to elect the next mayor of Columbia, South Carolina. Incumbent Democratic Mayor Stephen K. Benjamin did not seek re-election to a third term.[6] A runoff was held on November 16, 2021, since no candidate surpassed 50%. In the runoff RepublicanDaniel Rickenmann defeated Democratic candidate Tameika Isaac Devine. Daniel became the first Republican mayor of Columbia since 1990.[7][8]
The election was officially non-partisan, but some candidates were affiliated with political parties.