Mayor Andre Dickens easily won his bid to lead Atlanta for another four years, following the city's decades-long tradition of re-electing their mayors for second terms.

Dickens, a Democrat and former Atlanta city councilmember, faced three challengers seeking to take his place as the city’s leader. He was elected by a wide majority in 2021 in a runoff election, replacing former mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms after she declined to run for a second term.

His platform has focused on continuing his mandate over the past few years, and has touted his policies on crime reduction, budget management and initiatives to address affordable housing and homelessness.

Atlanta's mayoral election is nonpartisan, meaning candidates do not run under party labels. It's one of more than a half-dozen major U.S. cities with mayoral elections on Nov. 4.

Dickens' challengers were businessman Helmut Domagalski, former Atlanta police officer Kalema Jackson, and community organizer Eddie Andrew Meredith.

Dickens was called the winner shortly after 8 p.m.

Atlanta has long been a stalwart Democratic base in the south, while Georgia has become less reliably Republican in the last few presidential elections. Former President Joe Biden won Georgia in 2020 − the first time Democrats carried the state since 1992 − though it returned to Republicans in President Donald Trump's 2024 race.

Kathryn Palmer is a politics reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach her at kapalmer@usatoday.com and on X @KathrynPlmr.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens breezes to reelection

Reporting by Kathryn Palmer, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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