While much of the city is still reeling from the presidential election result, the biggest local contest was up in the air as the Chronicle went to press.
At the top of the local ballot, incumbent mayor Kirk Watson’s December plans remain unclear. If he nets more than 50% of the total votes cast by Austin voters (across three counties: Travis, Williamson, and Hays), he will win reelection without having to campaign in a runoff race, set for Dec. 15.
Watson’s campaign emphasized the housing reforms he helped usher through City Council over the past two years – while his opponents were mostly critical of those policy changes. “In just 22 months we’ve changed the landscape for affordability in Austin,” Watson told supporters at his election night party, Nov. 5, “by modernizing land use [rules] and changing old ways of thinking.”
Unofficial results in all three counties show Watson with just enough votes to avoid a runoff. But, late on Wednesday, election officials in Travis and Williamson counties were still counting more than 3,000 provisional and mail-in ballots. Those results will determine if a runoff is necessary to decide the race.
Carmen Llanes Pulido is hoping that those outstanding ballots will break her way. With about 20% of the Travis vote and 15% of the Williamson vote, Llanes Pulido is currently sitting in second place behind Watson – a result that is unlikely to change. Reached Wednesday morning, Llanes Pulido was feeling proud of her campaign and optimistic about her prospects of taking on Watson head-to-head.
“It’s a beautiful day,” the underdog candidate said. “There’s about 100 times more votes to count than Watson’s current margin of victory, so I am feeling hopeful.” On the success of her campaign, Llanes Pulido said she was able to speak to voters “specifically and authentically” on a range of issues. “Austinites mobilize when they feel heard, represented, listened to,” she added.
Llanes Pulido also hinted at the possibility of requesting a recount. “There may be grounds to challenge the results,” she said, given Watson’s narrow margin over her on the morning after Election Day. She said she would wait until all of the outstanding ballots were counted before making any decisions on how to proceed.
This article appears in November 8 • 2024.