Oakland Voters Pick Mayor in Ranked-Choice Race

Mayor Barbara Lee faces three challengers as Oakland uses ranked-choice voting to count mayoral ballots.

Updated on Nov. 3, 2026 in Elections

Oakland Voters Pick Mayor in Ranked-Choice Race

Live Poll

Do you think Oakland is headed in the right direction?

Oakland voters are deciding the 2026 mayoral election between incumbent Mayor Barbara Lee and challengers Brenda Grisham, Mindy Pechenuk, and Julius Robinson. A candidate wins with a majority of first-choice votes, and if none does, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated.

Why it matters

The race follows Lee's 2024 election after former Mayor Sheng Thao was recalled, making the contest a test of voter support for her leadership. Ranked-choice voting means later-ranked preferences can decide the outcome if no candidate secures a first-round majority.

A Chamber of Commerce poll puts Lee's favorability at 68% and job performance at 52%, while 46% of Oaklanders say the city is headed in the right direction versus 36% who say it is on the wrong track. The poll does not report favorability or support figures for the three challengers.

The players

Barbara Lee

Barbara Lee is the sitting mayor of Oakland, California, who previously served as a U.S. House representative after first being elected to Congress in 1996.

Brenda Grisham

Brenda Grisham is a mayoral challenger in Oakland who founded the nonprofit Christopher LaVell Jones Foundation.

Mindy Pechenuk

Mindy Pechenuk is a mayoral challenger in Oakland who ran unsuccessfully for mayor in 2025.

Julius Robinson

Julius Robinson is a mayoral challenger in Oakland running against incumbent Barbara Lee in the 2026 election.

The details

Lee was first elected to Congress in 1996 before winning the mayoralty in 2024. Challenger Brenda Grisham founded the nonprofit Christopher LaVell Jones Foundation, and Mindy Pechenuk ran unsuccessfully for mayor in 2025.

2024: Barbara Lee is elected mayor after former Mayor Sheng Thao is recalled.
2025: Mindy Pechenuk runs unsuccessfully for Oakland mayor.
2026: Brenda Grisham announces her mayoral candidacy, and voters decide the race.

Political Context

Lee's 2026 campaign comes after the 2024 recall of former Mayor Sheng Thao, which put Lee in office and now requires voters to decide whether to keep her. The race is also the first Oakland mayoral contest decided under a ranked-choice system in this extraction, shaping how challengers can win support across multiple rounds.

Oakland voters will rank candidates, and if no one wins a first-choice majority, the lowest candidate is eliminated and their voters' next choices are counted. The result will determine who runs the city for the next term.

The takeaway

Ranked-choice voting means a voter's lower preferences can still matter if their first choice is eliminated. Oakland residents deciding this race should understand how the counting works before they fill out their ballots.