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% of the vote while her closest opponent, former Oakland City Councilmember Loren Taylor, had about 47%.
While there are still votes uncounted, interim Mayor Kevin Jenkins released a public letter congratulating Lee on her election as the next mayor.
“I am committed to ensuring a seamless handoff so that Mayor-Elect Lee and her team can continue the vital work of serving our residents,” Jenkins said.
Lee, however, issued a cautious statement in which she did not claim victory.
“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.”
Oakland! This evening’s results are encouraging. 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! Thanks to you, in our 100 day campaign our Faith, Labor and Business… pic.twitter.com/OJqCnsygej
— Barbara Lee (@BarbaraLee_CA) April 19, 2025
Tayor, who was leading in early returns Tuesday night, did n0t immediately respond to requests for comment, but on Wednesday had said he was “cautiously optimistic” that his lead would hold up.
“Having been through this before I realize there are things that are within our control and things that are not,” Taylor said Wednesday of his narrow 2022 defeat against Sheng Thao by less than 700 votes after nine rounds of ranked-choice voting. “It feels different from before, we feel as though we will be able to maintain this lead.”
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, did not respond to a request for comment about how many votes are left to count or when the final tally might come in.
“I am committed to ensuring a seamless handoff so that Mayor-Elect Lee and her team can continue the vital work of serving our residents.”
Interim Mayor Kevin Jenkins
So far, about 95,000 ballots have been cast, roughly a 38% 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 Thao lost a recall election in November. Whoever wins will serve out the remainder of her term — through January 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.
Wang maintains lead over Murray-Badal
In another closely watched contest, Charlene Wang maintained her decisive lead Friday in the race for the Oakland City Council District 2 seat, according to new numbers from the registrar’s office.
Wang was ahead with a little over 59% of the vote while her nearest rival, Kara Murray-Badal, had roughly 41%.
Wang and Murry-Badal did not respond to requests for comment Friday evening.
On Election Day Tuesday, Wang said she was proud of her campaign and the fact that she spent a lot of time out in the district knocking on doors and talking to residents and that her message of political pragmatism was well-received, especially around issues related to public safety.
The winner of Tuesday’s election will represent an area that is roughly east of Lake Merritt and south of Piedmont.
Wang is an East Bay native who grew up visiting her grandparents in West Oakland and who now lives in the Eastlake/San Antonio area.
She has worked for the U.S. EPA on civil rights and environmental justice issues. Wang lost a November 2024 election for the at-large City Council seat to current Councilmember Rowena Brown.
Murray-Badal, an Oakland native, is the director of the Housing Venture Lab, a housing policy and advocacy organization. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Stanford University and graduate degrees from University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School and Harvard Kennedy School.
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