Former congressional representative Barbara Lee took the lead Friday afternoon in the race to become Oakland’s next mayor, according to the latest vote count from the Alameda County Registrar of Voters’ Office.
Lee was leading with about 53 percent of the vote while her closest opponent, former Oakland City Councilmember Loren Taylor, had about 47 percent.
“This evening’s results are encouraging,” Lee said in a news release Friday. “I decided to run for Mayor knowing that Oakland is a deeply divided City — and I ran to unite our community. We worked hard every day to earn every vote.” Tayor, who was leading in early returns Tuesday night, didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
On Friday before the vote tally was posted online, Registrar Tim Dupuis sent out a statement saying that his office had about 42,000 ballots remaining to count and that additional vote-by-mail ballots continue to come in. Dupuis, who has said updates will be provided every Friday afternoon, didn’t respond to a request for comment about how many votes are left to count or when the final tally might come in.
So far, about 95,000 ballots have been cast, roughly a 38 percent voter turnout, according to information posted on the registrar’s website.
“We are exceeding expected turnout for this special election, because the people of Oakland care deeply about our future,” Lee said. “This is democracy at work, and I look forward to further election updates.”
The special election became necessary after former mayor Sheng Thao lost a recall election in November. Whoever wins will serve out the remainder of her term — through January of 2027.
Lee, who served as the city’s U.S. congressional representative from 1998 to 2025, and Taylor, a former city councilmember and founder of the well-connected political advocacy organization Empower Oakland, have long been considered the favorites in the race. Taylor previously ran for mayor against Thao in 2022 and narrowly lost the election to her by less than 700 votes after nine rounds of ranked-choice voting. A third-generation Oaklander, Taylor has a master’s degree in biomedical engineering from the University of Connecticut and a master of business administration degree from University of California at Berkeley’s Haas School of Business.
In addition to her career in Congress, Lee also served in the California State Assembly for six years and the state Senate for two. She earned an undergraduate degree from Mills College in Oakland and a master’s degree in social work from UC Berkeley.
The other candidates on the ballot include President Donald Trump enthusiast Mindy Pechenuk and frequent entrant Peter Liu, former Olympian/comedian and barista Elizabeth Swaney, former Thao advisor Renia Webb, Bay Area Council vice president Suz Robinson, a woman named President Cristina Grappo — who describes herself as a “provider” on her official ballot designation, paralegal Tyron Jordan, who said he suspended his campaign to support Lee, and union factory worker Eric Simpson.