1909 San Diego mayoral election

The 1909 San Diego mayoral election was held on April 6, 1909, to elect the mayor for San Diego. Incumbent Mayor John F. Forward Sr. and Grant Conard received the most votes in the primary election and advanced to the runoff. Conard was then elected mayor with a majority of the votes.

1909 San Diego mayoral election

← 1907 April 6, 1909 (1909-04-06) 1911 →

Nominee Grant Conard John F. Forward Sr. Party Republican Republican Popular vote 3,606 3,158 Percentage 53.3% 46.7%

Mayor before election John F. Forward Sr. Republican Elected mayor Grant Conard Republican

Candidates

• John F. Forward Sr., mayor of San Diego^[1]
• Grant Conard, 1907 mayoral candidate^[1]
• W.J. Kirkwood, 1905 mayoral candidate^[1]

Campaign

Incumbent Mayor John F. Forward Sr. stood for reelection on the Republican ticket. Grant Conard, who was previously the runner up in the 1907 election, once again challenged Forward as a Republican running a non-political campaign.^[2] Also contesting the race was W.J. Kirkwood, a Socialist.^[1]

The 1909 election was the first to be held in San Diego using the primary election system.^[3] On March 23, 1909, Forward and Conard received the two highest vote totals and advanced to the general election. Conard was then elected mayor on April 6, 1909, with a majority of the votes in the runoff.^[1]

Primary Election results

San Diego mayoral primary election, 1909^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	John F. Forward Sr. (incumbent)	2,356	40.4
	Republican	Grant Conard	2,265	38.9
	Socialist	W.J. Kirkwood	1,206	20.7
Total votes			5,827	100

General Election results

San Diego mayoral general election, 1909^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Grant Conard	3,606	53.3
	Republican	John F. Forward Sr. (incumbent)	3,158	46.7
Total votes			6,764	100