Mayor Mueller announces re-election for mayor of South Bend 2027

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- A little over one week after Midterm Elections, Mayor James Mueller excitedly announced on Thursday his re-election for mayor of South Bend.

The mayor says he's prioritizing spreading the word of his re-election and is focusing on the rest of his time in office. He says ensuring public safety remains a top priority while in office and will continue to tackle it if re-elected. 

"Public safety always comes first," he said. 

"It's the foundation upon which everything else it built, so we have a good record with public safety, but we still have work to do because there's still too much gun violence happening in our community."

But Democrat challenger Jason Critchlow says the mayor has not done enough with public safety. 

"I see a government that spends a lot of time arguing about numbers and talking about statistics, but numbers on a page don't make anybody feel any safter, and that's the problem," Critchlow said. 

Critchlow shared that several South Bend residents have voiced their concern over feeling unsafe in their own home city. 

Gun violence rates have gone down since the mayor took office. In 2021, the city experienced high gun violence compared to previous years, with South Bend police confirming 1,120 gun crimes. In 2025, there were 574 gun crimes. 

Critchlow said if elected, he wants to be stricter on public safety, because it is non-negotiable. 

The mayor last faced Critchlow in the May 2019 Democratic Primary. Critchlow finished second to Mueller in a field of nine candidates. 

ABC57 will continue to share updates on the mayoral race.