The election was won by Pete Buttigieg, who, at 29 years of age, became the youngest mayor, at the time, of a United States city with a population greater than 100,000.

[21] Democratic candidates included failed 2010 Indiana State treasurer candidate Pete Buttigieg, state representative Ryan Dvorak, high school teacher and St. Joseph Councilman Michael Hamann, reverend and former Clinton administration staffer Barrett Berry, and attorney Felipe Merino.

[17] Furthermore, during the campaign, Dvorak was involved in the Indiana legislative walkouts, which caused him to spend a significant part of his candidacy out-of-town in Illinois.

[35] This included an economic plan which promised to assist responsible existing employers grow, cultivate "new homegrown businesses of tomorrow", have the city compete both nationally and globally for investments, create "well-coordinated and user-friendly" economic development, confront poverty, and make investments in human capital and quality of life.

[8] Berry served on several local boards, including the St. Joseph County Area Planning Commission, to which he had been appointed by mayor Luecke.

[8] While St. Joseph County Democratic Chairman Butch Morgan refrained from formally endorsing any candidate,[22] he privately supported Hamann.

[22] In mid-March, a poll conducted by the Feldman Group found Buttigieg and Dvorak to be in a virtual tie, both garnering roughly 30%.

[54] By mid-April, the election was still regarded to be a close-race between Buttigieg and Dvorak, with Hamann being seen as a third-place candidate trying to push his way back towards contention.

[34][55] In mid-March, a poll conducted by the Feldman Group found Buttigieg and Dvorak to be in a virtual tie, both garnering roughly 30%.

[32] By mid-April, the election was regarded to be a close-race between Buttigieg and Dvorak, with Hamann being seen as a third-place candidate trying to push his way back towards contention.

[29] At this time, internal polls from the Buttigieg and Dvorak campaigns showed that Barrett Berry was in fourth place among candidates.

[15][18][47] Due to the contest featuring four serious contenders for the nomination, experts had predicted that the victor would only carry roughly a third of the vote.

[32][60] Curry, a carpenter and construction contractor,[61] had won the support of the local Republican establishment ahead of the primary.

[8] Curry had some experience in government and community projects, including having served as chairman for the Economic Development Panel of South Bend's City Plan process from 2003 through 2006.

[8] Curry's initial plans for 2011 were to run for the 4th district seat on the South Bend City Council, but he ultimately changed his mind and ran for mayor instead.

[8] Curry hoped to be the nominee so that he could present an alternative to Democratic rule in the city, which he critiqued for having what he considered a "grossly" flawed "direction and philosophy for which they base their decisions on".

[8] He claimed declining population, business, and jobs in the city were evidence of failed Democratic leadership, and declared that he would reverse these trends if elected.

[8] Also running in the Republican primary was William F. "Bill" Davis, a self-proclaimed "independent" who had challenged mayor Luecke for the Democratic nomination in the previous election.

[8][14] He had also run for other offices in the past, with his most recent campaign having been a 2008 St. Joseph County Commissioner's election in which he had received 40% of the vote.

[8] He received media attention for his troublesome history, which included periods in which he had stayed in prisons and in mental hospitals.

[8] At the time of the campaign, he was even suing the city's code enforcement department for not permitting him to repair a condemned property.

[47] During his primary campaign, Buttigieg had spent nearly all of the funds he had raised, subsequently justifying this by declaring, "We didn’t want to lose a squeaker and have a lot left in the tank.

[63] He argued that local politics was primarily responsible for what he called the "demise" of South Bend, faulting both of the major parties for this.

In an op-ed published in the South Bend Tribune, Farrell wrote that he was running to, "be a steward of the people's trust".

[15][77] Some of western South Bend's heavily African American precincts gave Buttigieg some of his greatest levels of support in the general election.

[24] The election made Buttigieg, sworn in at 29 years of age, the youngest mayor, at the time, of a United States city with a population greater than 100,000.