Jonathan Bernstein, Columnist

Republicans Have Given Up on Cities

GOP losses last week in Colorado Springs and Jacksonville, onetime party strongholds, reflect the waning importance of urban areas in presidential elections.

May 21, 2023 at 12:00 PM UTC

By Jonathan Bernstein

Jonathan Bernstein is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering politics. A former professor of political science at the University of Texas at San Antonio, he wrote A Plain Blog About Politics.

Cities’ role in party politics is shrinking.
Photographer: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

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After Republicans lost mayoral elections in Jacksonville and Colorado Springs on Tuesday, only two of the 32 largest US cities, and 14 of the 70 largest, will have GOP mayors.

The results are a bit more evidence that despite President Joe Biden’s continued low approval ratings, the Republican Party is still struggling on a national level.