2007 Indianapolis mayoral election

The Indianapolis mayoral election of 2007 took place on November 6, 2007. Voters elected the Mayor of Indianapolis, members of the Indianapolis City-County Council, as well as several other local officials. Incumbent Democrat Bart Peterson was seeking a third term. Republicans nominated former Marine Greg Ballard to run against Peterson. In what was called "the biggest upset in Indiana political history", Ballard defeated Peterson 51% to 47%.[2]

2007 Indianapolis mayoral election

← 2003 November 6, 2007 2011 →
Turnout26.32% Decrease 0.49pp[1]
 
Nominee Greg Ballard Bart Peterson
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 83,238 77,926
Percentage 50.4% 47.2%

Voting by party by neighborhood. The darkest blue shade represents more than 60% of votes were for Peterson, the lighter blue shade represents more than 50% for Peterson. The darkest red shade represents more than 60% of votes were for Ballard, the lighter red shade represents more than 50% for Ballard.

Mayor before election

Bart Peterson
Democratic

Elected mayor

Greg Ballard
Republican

The Indianapolis City-County elections took place alongside the mayoral election.[3]

Candidates

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  • Democrat Bart Peterson, incumbent Mayor, ran for a third term.
  • Republican Greg Ballard
  • Libertarian Fred Peterson

Campaign

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Peterson was vastly considered a lock to win the election by political experts.[4] The incumbent Peterson had nearly 30 times as much campaign money as the challenger. Peterson, who started with considerable fundraising advantages, raised nearly $1.5 million since April and had $1.5 million left in late October.[5] In contrast, Ballard raised nearly $225,000 since April and had just over $51,000 left in his campaign fund in late October. Peterson spent nearly $1.5 million on TV and radio ads and $113,000 on polling and research. Two weeks before election day, Ballard had still not put up any TV ads.[4]

Issues

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The two major issues in the mayoral campaign were crime and taxes.[6] Residents felt property taxes were most important due to the spike in the tax. Rising crime was another major issue in the election.[7]

Election results

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Indianapolis mayoral election, 2007[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Greg Ballard 83,238 50.4
Democratic Bart Peterson (incumbent) 77,926 47.2
Libertarian Fred Peterson 3,787 2.3
No party Write-Ins 51 0.1
Turnout 165,002 26.2
Majority 5,312 3.2
Republican gain from Democratic Swing

References

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  1. ^ "indy.gov". www.indy.gov. Retrieved September 4, 2024.
  2. ^ "Ballard grabs upset win in mayoral race". The Indianapolis Star. November 7, 2007. Archived from the original on February 23, 2008. Retrieved June 22, 2008.
  3. ^ a b "2007 General Election Results". Marion County Clerk's Office. November 7, 2007. Archived from the original on May 11, 2008. Retrieved November 1, 2008.
  4. ^ a b "Ballard's 'Biggest Upset' Ends Peterson Era". WRTV. November 7, 2007. Archived from the original on June 17, 2008. Retrieved June 22, 2008.
  5. ^ "Peterson's fundraising far outweighs competition". WTHR. October 19, 2007. Archived from the original on November 17, 2007. Retrieved June 22, 2008.
  6. ^ "Candidates for mayor discuss election issues". WTHR. November 5, 2007. Archived from the original on June 29, 2011. Retrieved June 22, 2008.
  7. ^ "Indianapolis Mayor Begins Ad Campaign". WISH-TV. May 2, 2007. Retrieved June 22, 2008.[permanent dead link]
Preceded by
2003
Indianapolis mayoral election
2007
Succeeded by
2011