After more than two years as mayor of his small hometown in Minnesota, a 5-year-old boy’s run for a third consecutive term has come up short.
Robert “Bobby” Tufts was defeated by 16-year-old Eric Mueller from Mendota Heights on Sunday during the annual Taste of Dorset festival in Dorset, Minnesota, a tiny town with a population between 9 and 28, the Associated Press reports.
Since the small town has no formal city government, people were allowed to vote as many times as they wanted, with each vote costing $1.
Ballots were collected around town, with the proceeds of the election going toward bringing the festival together.
Among his list of accomplishments since being elected in 2012, Bobby helped to raise money for the Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Red River Valley in Fargo, North Dakota.
Priding himself on his love for ice cream, the miniature mayor also managed to declare the cold sweet treat as the most important meal in one’s diet, placing it at the top of the food pyramid.
“It was fun, but it’s time to pass on the vote,” Bobby told the AP on Monday.
Now, instead of rewarding the citizens of his tiny tourist town with candies and goodies, Bobby will be the one snatching up the prizes and having a good time during local parades and festivals.
“He really enjoyed being a kid in some festivals, not having to perform,” said his mother, Emma Tufts.
She added that the family has been jokingly putting together a political portfolio to help get the youngster ready for a possible presidential run in 2048.
Eric, who will be a high school junior in the fall, said he had an epiphany to challenge Bobby for mayor while he was in the middle of devouring five fried ice creams, according to the AP.
But the teenage politician shouldn’t get too comfortable.
Bobby added that he hopes to pass the political torch to his younger brother.
“I’m gonna let James do it,” he said. “He’s 2.”