Former U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee has emerged victorious in the race for mayor of Oakland. Lee prevailed in a close race against former Oakland city council member Loren Taylor as the pair battled for the seat that was temporarily filled after former Oakland mayor Sheng Thao was removed from office in November.

According to SFGate, Oakland City Council President Nikki Fortunato held the seat for a few weeks after Thao was removed due to the federal corruption and bribery charges he faced. City Councilmember Kevin Jenkins served as interim mayor after Fortunato left his role to take a seat on the Alameda County Board of Supervisors.

How close was the race between Barbara Lee and Loren Taylor?

The San Francisco Chronicle called the race for mayor shortly after 5 p.m. on Friday. Shortly before the race was called, the unofficial results from Alameda County showed Lee leading Taylor with 52.7% of the vote. Taylor had 47.3% of the votes at that point while the pair was separated by about 5,000 individual votes.

Lee released a statement on X around 5 p.m., saying the latest results are “encouraging.”

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

How did Barbara Lee build her legacy in politics?

Lee built her resume through decades of social justice activism. The 78-year-old has served as a state legislator in the East Bay district and as a U.S. congresswoman for 30 years. In 2024, Lee put her name in the race to replace California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who died in 2023, but did not land the seat.

Lee received wide support when she announced her decision to run for mayor. Several community leaders showed their support for Lee when they signed a joint letter as an endorsement. Councilmember Carroll Fife spoke to KQED in January, saying Lee is the best person for the job.

“I can’t think of a person better suited who truly loves this city and has the expertise and understanding of the legislative process to hold that position than Congresswoman Lee,” Fife said.

Loren Taylor

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