1995 Fort Wayne mayoral election

The 1995 Fort Wayne mayoral election was held on November 7, 1995 to elect the mayor of Fort Wayne, Indiana, United States. It saw the reelection of Republican incumbent Paul Helmke. As of 2019, this is the last time a Republican has won a Fort Wayne mayoral election.

Fort Wayne mayoral election, 1995

November 7, 1995

Nominee Paul Helmke Thomas Essex Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 21,909 11,033 Percentage 64.49% 32.48%

Mayor before election Paul Helmke Republican Elected Mayor Paul Helmke Republican

Nominations

Democratic primary

Wayne Township Trustee Thomas Essex won the Democratic primary with 4,056 votes.[1]

Republican primary

Some Republicans speculated that Helmke, who had ties to the Clinton administration, might have been endangered in his primary. However, contrarily, he handily won his primary with 75% of the vote (7,717 votes).[1]

Libertarian nomination

Libertarians nominated William Kempf.

General election

The race was projected by Howey Political Report to be "safe Republican", with Helmke anticipated to be easily reelected.[2][3]

General election results[4][5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Paul Helmke (incumbent)	21,909	64.49%
	Democratic	Thomas Essex	11,033	32.48%
	Libertarian	William Kempf	1,029	3.03%
Total votes			33,971

References

1. "Upsets, resilience mark mayoral races" (PDF). The Howey Political Report. 1 (32). 4 May 1995.
2. "Final look at mayoral races prior to '95 polling" (PDF). The Howey Political Report. 2 (9). 1 November 1995.
3. "Indy mayoral race big Democratic blunder?" (PDF). The Howey Political Report. 2 (8). 24 October 1995.
4. "Indiana Racing Form Indiana Mayoral Races 1999" (PDF). The Howey Political Report. 5 (30). 15 February 1999. Retrieved 25 September 2019.
5. "Helmke won't press; Bayh ain't talkin'" (PDF). The Howey Political Report. 4 (29). 9 July 1998. Retrieved 4 November 2019.