On December 17, 2018, incumbent two-term Democratic mayor Pete Buttigieg announced that he would not seek reelection to a third term.

[15] This was also greater than the state of Indiana's average of 12.87% voter turnout in counties that were holding 2019 municipal primaries.

[20] In early January, immediately before the filing period for candidates would begin, prospective candidates James Mueller, Jason Critchlow, Lynn Coleman, and Aaron Perri held a meeting in which they agreed that, if they ran, they would try to keep the city's Democratic Party unified.

[25] Mueller, a first-time candidate for public office, ultimately won a solid victory in a crowded primary field.

[34][35] However, she also offered him praise for making more funds and resources available to low-income residents for the purposes of repairing their homes.

[34] Williams-Preston is the daughter of George Williams Jr., who in 1975 ran for the Republican nomination for mayor, the first black man to seek the city's mayoralty.

On March 5 Indiana University South Bend hosted a debate attended by seven of the candidates for mayor.

[49] In the weeks leading up to the primary, Mueller, Critchlow, and Coleman were the three candidates who had the greatest television advertising presence.

[82] In contrast, Haas criticized Buttigieg and adopted the campaign catch-phase "No RePetes" (a play on the word "repeats").

[83] Haas called for the resignation of mayor Buttigieg due to his extended absence from the city during his presidential candidacy.

[86][87] Key components of Mueller's plan included expanding the Group Violence Intervention program, establishing a summer youth jobs program, creating a community advisory board, and collaborating with Mishawaka and St. Joseph County leaders to incorporate the existing metro homicide unit into a “major crimes unit".

[86][87] Haas stated that his public safety plans started with a focus on "building relationships" between the community and its police force.

[86] Haas stated that he would also seek more "micro-community policing", under which officers create specially-designed crime-fighting plans for specific areas of the city.

[86] Haas also desired to revive Drug Abuse Resistance Education programs in South Bend schools.

[90] Organizations Officeholders Newspapers Turnout among registered voters was approximately 15%, up 1% from the previous mayoral election.

[95][96][97][79][81] Mueller's victory marked the 13th straight South Bend mayoral election in which a Democrat has won.