Mayor Frederic W. Lincoln Jr. was renominated by the Republican Party, which ran under the "Union Republican" banner amid the ongoing American Civil War.

[2] Lincoln's opponent, Thomas Coffin Amory, accepted the nomination of the Democratic Party in a letter that was read on his behalf to the December 2, 1864 meeting of the city's Democratic Ward and City Committee.

[3] The Boston Evening Transcript characterized Mayor Lincoln as a strong front-runner, writing on December 3, 1864, "there can be no doubt ever of the triumphant re-election of Mayor Lincoln and his associates on the Union Republican ticket.

"[4] After the election, the Boston Evening Transcript wrote that the election of Lincoln and the Union Republican nominees for other municipal offices had been a "foregone conclusion".

[2] The Boston Evening Transcript described the margins of the victory received Lincoln and his fellow Union Republican nominees for city offices were, "extraordinarily large".