MILWAUKEE — Cavalier Johnson will be the next Mayor of Milwaukee with 67.53% percent of the vote, TMJ4 News projects from initial results Tuesday night.
Former Ald. Bob Donovan has received 32.47% percent of the vote, according to initial results.
BREAKING UPDATE: Officials here say they are 100% counted. 29,076 absentee ballots came through this facility. @tmj4
— Tom Durian (@TMJ4Tom) April 6, 2022
MORE COVERAGE:
- Mayoral candidates debate city's most pressing issues
- Biographies: Milwaukee mayoral candidates
- Johnson, Donovan advance to general election for mayor
"I hope that all the black and brown boys and girls who wake up tomorrow, and they get ready for school - they do so knowing that we have shown here today - that no matter where you live, or how much or how little your parents make, and no matter the color of your skin - that in Milwaukee, there’s a place for you too," Johnson said Tuesday night after his win.
Johnson currently serves as Acting Milwaukee Mayor, a position he has held since former Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett resigned from the position in December to become the next U.S. Ambassador to Luxembourg.
Johnson has represented District 2 in the Milwaukee Common Council since 2016. He won reelection in 2020 and fellow council members chose him to become Common Council President. In Milwaukee, when a mayor resigns, the person who serves as Council President becomes Acting Mayor until an election selects a new mayor.
:: When all the votes are in, it looks like about 85,000 people in Milwaukee will have voted in the mayoral election.
— Steve Chamraz (@TMJ4Steve) April 6, 2022
Compare this to:
90k turnout in 2020
157k in 2016*
77k in 2012
80k in 2008
160k in 2004
*coincided with presidential primary election
Donovan served as Milwaukee alderman representing District 8 for 20 years before retiring in 2020. He faced off against Tom Barrett in the 2016 mayoral race and lost with just under 30 percent of the vote, compared to Barrett's 70 percent.
In the primary election, Johnson secured 42 percent of votes while Donovan secured 22 percent of votes.
Johnson will now serve as mayor for the remaining two years of Barrett's term.
This is a developing story and will be updated shortly.