Charlotte, North Carolina, Mayor Vi Lyles overwhelmingly defeated four challengers in Tuesday’s Democratic primary as she and other Democrats face backlash for the murder of a young woman on the city’s transit system.

Lyles won over 70% of the votes cast by residents in the liberal-leaning Charlotte. Her closest challenger was Brendan K. Maginnis, who only secured 12% of the votes. The incumbent will face Republican nominee Terrie Donovan and libertarian candidate Rob Yates in November’s election.

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If reelected, Lyles will serve her fifth term and become Charlotte’s longest-serving mayor. She first assumed the position in 2017.

Although she swept the Democratic primary field this week, Lyles is facing negative optics following the Aug. 22 train stabbing that left 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska, a Ukrainian refugee, dead.

Lyles is being widely criticized for her response to Zarutska’s death. She asked local media outlets and community members to refrain from disseminating the viral video of the stabbing.

Lyles issued a statement on Monday assuring the “community that we are taking action” to improve security on the city’s public transit system, particularly the Blue Line, where Zarutska died. The mayor also called for criminal justice and mental health reforms to prevent murders committed by repeat offenders.

Decarlos Brown Jr., 34, whom police identified as the suspect in Zarutska’s murder, is a repeat offender who has been arrested and released over a dozen times. Brown stabbed Zarutska in the neck three times, leaving her to bleed out. After committing the crime, Brown, who is black, said, “I got that white girl.”

Brown was arrested and subsequently charged with first-degree murder by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department. The Department of Justice later charged him with one count of committing an act causing death on a mass transportation system. If convicted of the federal charge, Brown could face the death penalty, as President Donald Trump indicated on Wednesday.

Trump and several administration officials, including Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel, have weighed in on the fatal train stabbing. Trump blamed Democrats’ soft-on-crime policies for Zarutska’s murder. The president also pinned the responsibility on former Democratic North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper but did not specifically criticize Lyles.

Meanwhile, the Department of Transportation is investigating Charlotte’s transit safety following the deadly incident. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the city’s federal funding for public transportation may be revoked depending on the investigation’s conclusion.

TRUMP PINS BLAME FOR MURDER OF IRYNA ZARUTSKA ON SOFT CRIME POLICIES

The city’s fiscal 2026 budget includes $38.29 million in federal grants allocated to the Charlotte Area Transit System, a 40.6% increase from the previous fiscal year. It’s unclear how much federal funding will be pulled at this time, but Duffy said he anticipates all of it is on the table “if I find what I think I’m going to find.”

In the meantime, Lyles will have to navigate the political minefield regarding the issue until the general election in early November. Notably, her Republican rival made crime a top matter before Zarutska’s murder.