Houston Mayor John Whitmire confirms intentions to run for re-election in 2028

Houston Mayor John Whitmire said in late January that he has intentions of running for re-election after his current term expires in 2028.

What we know

In an official statement shared with Community Impact on Jan. 26, Whitmire said: "I’m proud of the progress we’ve made in my first two years in office, but I know the challenges facing us will need years of hard work and tough decision-making. My focus today is being Mayor, but I plan on running for re-election to continue fixing the problems Houstonians face.”

A representative from his office said that the mayor has consistently said he will run again.

Some background

Whitmire originally defeated former U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee in a runoff race for Houston mayor in 2023. He garnered 64.4% of the vote, receiving approximately 54,972 more votes than Lee, who at the time represented District 18, according to previous Community Impact coverage.

Before becoming mayor, Whitmire served as a Texas House representative for 10 years and as a Texas senator for 40 years. In a Q&A with Community Impact during his race, Whitmire said he chose to run for mayor to continue being a public servant.

"I care about Houston and Houstonians; we all want a great city in which to live, work, raise our families," he said. "As mayor, I can make a more direct impact. Together, we can improve our neighborhoods with better streets, garbage pickup, flood control, a more affordable Houston."

For his campaign, he ran on priorities, such as public safety, city infrastructure, city services, budget transparency and ethics, and saw Houston's biggest issues as crime, bad streets, broken water lines, garbage pickup, flooding, illegal dumping and affordable housing.

The changes

In his first two years in office, Whitmire has received both praise and criticism from residents and stakeholders for his approach to addressing several of Houston's challenges. Check out some headlines from the last two years from Community Impact's coverage of Whitmire and his initiatives.

• Houston mayor looks to launch $70M pilot program to deal with homelessness
• Houston City Council finalizes historic $650M firefighter agreement
• Mayor John Whitmire's traffic crackdowns have resulted in nearly 600 citations
• 'I need your help': Whitmire leans into partnerships to address mobility, public safety
• Houston officials spend $11.46M for more than 30 new solid waste vehicles

What's next?

Whitmire's term as mayor officially started Jan. 2, 2024. He will serve a four-year term that ends in January 2028. According to the city of Houston website, he is eligible for re-election to a second, consecutive four-year term.