Democracy for America celebrates Vi Lyles outright victory in Charlotte mayoral primary

Today, Democracy for America (DFA) celebrated the stunning upset victory endorsed candidate Vi Lyles achieved  in Charlotte's Democratic mayoral primary.  

In the multi-candidate primary matchup, Lyles beat the incumbent mayor by 10 points and  earned over 46% of the primary vote, allowing her to claim the Democratic nomination outright and proceed directly to the Fall general mayoral election against Republican Kenny Smith.  If elected, Lyles will be the first Black woman to ever serve as Charlotte’s Mayor.

Democracy for America was among the first national progressive organizations to endorse Lyles in April 2017, raised more than $10,000 via 1,567 individual contributions, co-sponsored events, and worked directly with the campaign to set up its DFA Dialer calling tool to reach out to voters.  

With Yvette Simpson's surprise victory in Cincinnati, Lyles’ primary victory marks second time this cycle that a DFA-endorsed progressive Black woman with a powerful track record of unapologetic progressive leadership has defied conventional wisdom and won a race against an incumbent mayor in a major city.

Democracy for America Chair Jim Dean on Vi Lyles outright victory in the Charlotte mayoral primary:

“Vi Lyles won an outright victory in Charlotte’s Democratic mayoral primary, not by spending hundreds of thousands of dollars airing TV ads, but by spelling out her convictions and talking one-on-one with voters about her bold vision for a more equitable, just, and fair Charlotte. Her victory may be a surprise to the pundits but not to the voters.

“Voters sent a powerful message by unseating an incumbent and putting Vi Lyles in the position to make history in November as the first Black woman to be ever elected Charlotte’s Mayor.

“City governments can no longer be a playground for Wall Street developers, violent and unaccountable police departments, or Democratic incumbents good old boy’s networks. In 2017, voters stand ready to make cities everywhere into bastions of resistance to the Trump regime, by electing bold progressive leaders, like Vi Lyles, who run on and are committed to fighting for racial and economic justice.” -- Jim Dean, Chair, Democracy for America

DFA has over 46,930 members in the state of North Carolina.

DFA’s support for Lyles is part of a 2017-18 organizational initiative to invest $500,000 in municipal races across the country that the Associated Press recently described as an attempt “turn the Trump resistance movement into tangible victories.”

Prior to her election to an at-large position on the City Council in 2013, Lyles had spent nearly thirty years in Charlotte’s city government, including more than a decade as the assistant city manager. She was instrumental in guiding Charlotte’s affordable housing plan and in the development of Mecklenburg County’s Minority and Women’s Business Enterprise Program -- both of which had a dramatic impact on improving the lives of forgotten Charlotte residents.

Since its 2004 founding, DFA members have raised and contributed more than $40 million and made more than 11.1 million volunteer calls to help successfully elect 915 progressive candidates nationwide.