A Democratic Party “rising star” who was enthusiastically backed by former Vice President Kamala Harris lost a special election by nearly three percentage points in a city Harris carried by 10 percentage points in 2024. Spiro Cheriogotis, a Republican, defeated Democratic Party challenger Barbara Drummond after receiving 51.39 percent of the vote to Drummond’s 48.61 percent. While the office was already held by a Republican in outgoing Mayor Sandy Stimpson, the race was projected to be very competitive, with many election analysts projecting a Drummond win due to Stimpson’s incumbency advantage and the city’s lean in the 2024 presidential election,...