The 2013 Lansing mayoral election took place on November 5, 2013. A primary election took place on August 6, 2013, which narrowed the field of candidates for the general election. Incumbent Mayor Virgil Bernero, the unsuccessful Democratic nominee for Governor of Michigan in 2010, ran for re-election to a third term. His main challenger was former City Councilman Harold J. Leeman, Jr. Bernero placed first in the primary with 66 percent of the vote, and defeated Leeman by a landslide in the general election, winning his third and final term as Mayor with 71 percent of the vote