Former Columbus City Manager Isaiah Hugley won the city’s mayoral runoff, defeating City Council member Joanne Cogle and becoming the first Black candidate elected mayor in Columbus’ 198-year history.
Hugley received 16,309 votes to Cogle’s 15,312, a 51.58% to 48.42% margin, WTVM reported. The race drew 31,621 votes and 24.88% turnout. Hugley will become Columbus’ 71st mayor and take office in January, succeeding term-limited Mayor Skip Henderson.
The contest was close enough that Cogle did not concede Tuesday night. She said she was waiting for provisional ballots and military and overseas ballots, while Muscogee County Elections Director Nancy Boren said about 54 ballots remained outstanding.
Hugley’s victory marks a sharp political comeback. The Columbus Council fired him in May 2025 after a 7-3 vote, with a motion citing a “pattern of sustained dysfunction and operational breakdown” in departments he oversaw, WTVM reported. Hugley had spent nearly 20 years as city manager and was the first African American to hold that post.
The historic milestone comes more than 50 years after A.J. McClung served briefly as interim mayor in 1973. The Ledger-Enquirer noted Hugley is the first Black candidate elected mayor outright.
Throughout the campaign, Hugley leaned on his city experience. At a January forum, he pointed to $1.2 billion in capital roads and infrastructure projects and said he wanted to “finish the job,” WTVM reported. After the runoff, he emphasized civility, dignity and respect while naming poverty, youth violence, affordable housing and neighborhood unity as priorities.
Columbus operates under a mayor-council-city manager form of government, according to the city charter. That means Hugley will move from decades of running day-to-day operations to leading the city from its top elected office.
