Baltimore mayoral election, 1999
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On November 2, 1999, the city of Baltimore, Maryland, elected a new mayor, the 47th in the city's history. Primary elections were held to determine the nominees for the Democratic Party and Republican Party on September 14. Incumbent mayor Kurt Schmoke, a Democrat, opted not to run for reelection. Martin O'Malley, a member of the Baltimore City Council, won the election to succeed Schmoke.
Because Baltimore's electorate is overwhelmingly Democratic, whoever won the Democratic primary election was seen as the favorite over the Republican nominee in the general election. Baltimore's large African American population initially made it seem likely that the next mayor would also be African American. Kweisi Mfume was the preferred candidate of local politicians, but he opted not to run. Though Carl Stokes and Lawrence Bell, members of the City Council, declared for the race, local leaders were underwhelmed with the quality of declared candidates.
In 1999, Baltimore experienced high rates of murder and unemployment, and had a failing city school system. O'Malley declared his candidacy, focusing his campaign on a "zero tolerance" approach to crime. He received endorsements from many of the city's African American leaders. After a close race, O'Malley overtook both Stokes and Bell to win the Democratic nomination, which all but assured him of victory in the general election. He defeated Republican candidate David F. Tufaro in the general election by an overwhelming majority.
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