2018 Tel Aviv mayoral election
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| Turnout | 44.17% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Strongest candidate by borough | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 2018 Tel Aviv mayoral election was held on 30 October 2018 to elect the mayor of Tel Aviv. It saw the reelection of Ron Huldai to a fifth consecutive term.[1]
The election was part of the 2018 Israeli municipal elections.
Candidates
[edit]Ran
[edit]- Natan Elnatan (Shas), deputy mayor[1]
- Assaf Harel (We Are the City), comedian[1]
- Ron Huldai (One Tel Aviv), incumbent mayor since 1998[1]
- Asaf Zamir (City Majority), deputy mayor and founder and chairman of "City Majority"[1]
Declined
[edit]- Ofir Akunis, member of the Knesset[2]
- Tzipi Livni, Knesset leader of the opposition, leader of Hatnua, former leader of Kadima[2]
- Stav Shaffir, member of the Knesset[3][4]
- Noam Tavon[2]
Campaigning
[edit]A popular four-term incumbent, Ron Huldai had never before faced a serious reelection challenge.[1]
Lacking name recognition when he announced his candidacy, Asaf Zamir's prospects were initially considered a longshot. However, in the months after launching his campaign, Zamir saw his support rise.[1] Before the election results came in, it was anticipated that he would at least force Huldai into a runoff election.[1] As of July, a poll by Walla News showed Zamir in third place with only 11% of the vote, behind Huldai and prospective candidate Stav Shaffir.[3] However, after Shaffir's made clear she would not be a candidate in the election, Zamir gradually climbed in support, posing a credible challenge to Huldai.[3] Some polling shortly before the election showed Huldai with only a single-digit lead over Zamir.[3]
Attacks on Zamir included accusations of crony capitalism related to his marriage to Maya Wertheimer, which made his grandfather-in-law billionaire Stef Wertheimer. Stef Wertheimer personally funded part of Zamir's reelection campaign.[1]
Huldai and Zamir shared many similar political concerns, both advocating for lowering the price of housing, improvements to public transportation, and increasing the livability of the city.[1]
Zamir promised to address housing needs by building the city vertically, adding high-rise apartments along busier roadways that can accommodate such buildings.[3] He also proposed expanding the city center by renovating more distant neighborhoods in order to enable people to live further from the city's geographic core, without feeling removed from the city.[3]
Polling
[edit]| Date | Polling firm | Sample Size | Margin of error | Vote share | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Natan Elnatan |
Zippi Brand Frank |
Ron Huldai |
Meital Leavi |
Stav Shaffir |
Yair Tzabari |
Asaf Harel |
Assaf Zamir |
Undecided | Will not vote | ||||
| Mid-October 2018 | Panels Research Institute[5] | - | 27.6% | - | - | - | 10.1% | 23.9% | |||||
| October 2018 | Panels Research Institute[6] | 505 | ±4.4% | 6.0% | - | 25.7% | - | - | - | 7.3% | 20.0% | 35.3% | 5.7% |
| Early October 2018 | Panels Politix Research Institute/Walla News[7] | 513 | 7% | - | 32% | - | - | - | 9% | 23% | 29% | - | |
| August 2018 | Channel 2[4] | - | 2% | 45% | 1% | 14% | - | 10% | - | - | |||
| July 2018 | Panels Politix Research Institute/Walla News[2] | - | - | 25% | 4% | 15% | 3% | - | 11% | 40% | - | ||
Results
[edit]The results in Tel Aviv, with 203,018 voters participating of 440,205 eligible, are as follows. Of the 203,018 votes, 194,451 were valid (marking 44.17% turnout).
Since Huldai's share of the vote exceeded the 40% threshold required to avert a runoff election, no runoff was held.[1]
Huldai was seen as managing to both retain his strong support among the city's younger electorate, as well as retain a base of fervent supporters among a minority of the city's older residents.[1]
| Candidate | Party name | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ron Huldai (incumbent) | One Tel Aviv | תל אביב 1, Tel Aviv Ahat | 91,116 | 46.86% |
| Asaf Zamir | City Majority | רוב העיר, Rov HaIr | 66,403 | 34.15% |
| Assaf Harel | We Are the City | אנחנו העיר, Anahnu HaIr | 23,604 | 12.14% |
| Natan Elnatan | Shas | ש"ס | 13,328 | 6.85% |
| Source: Ministry of the Interior[8] | ||||
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Wootliff, Raoul (31 October 2018). "Tel Aviv mayor fends off deputy, cruises to fifth term". www.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
- ^ a b c d "למרות השמות החדשים במרוץ - חולדאי מוביל | סקר וואלה! NEWS - וואלה! חדשות". וואלה! (in Hebrew). 16 July 2018. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f Wootliff, Raoul; Lidman, Melanie (30 October 2018). "In Tel Aviv, upstart deputy gives mayor first real scare in decades". www.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
- ^ a b "Poll: Huldai will handily beat any other Tel Aviv mayoral candidate". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. 14 August 2018. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
- ^ "Poll: Gap between Huldai and Zamir narrows to 3.5%". Times of News. 26 October 2018. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
- ^ Cohen, Moshe (11 October 2018). "סקר לראשות עיריית ת"א: חולדאי מוביל בפער קטן על זמיר". www.maariv.co.il. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
- ^ "הבחירות לעיריית ת"א: קרב צמוד בין זמיר לחולדאי, 29% עדיין מתלבטים - וואלה! חדשות". וואלה! (in Hebrew). 9 October 2018. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
- ^ "1800 7.11 תוצאות.xlsx". www.moin.gov.il. Ministry of the Interior. 2017. Archived from the original on 21 April 2020.