Mayor Kirk Watson apparent winner in Austin mayoral race
AUSTIN (KXAN) -- More than a week after Election Day, all Travis, Hays and Williamson County ballots have been unofficially tallied and they're enough for KXAN to call an apparent winner in the Austin mayoral race. Austin Mayor Kirk Watson has more than 50% of the unofficial vote and is projected to win outright.
Watson has secured 50.004% of the overall vote with 175,090 total votes. That's 14 votes above the runoff threshold.
KXAN is reporting Watson as the apparent winner, because those numbers are yet to be finalized.
Travis County is expected to do its canvass on Nov. 15 and Williamson County on the Nov. 19, according to the respective clerk's offices. Hays County's results are official, according to its website. The deadline set by the Texas Secretary of State to post finalized results is Nov. 19.
"I want to thank voters for their confidence in me, and for electing me to serve as Austin mayor for a 4th time. We knew that winning outright, with no runoff, against four opponents in a presidential year would be extraordinary," Watson posted on X shortly after the results posted.
Should Watson have been pushed to a runoff, second-place candidate Carmen Llanes Pulido would have been his challenger.
"Given that the results are unofficial at this point and such a tight margin, I am waiting to see an official tally from the three counties to declare a position," Llanes Pulido said. "We owe it to Austinites who have made it clear that they want new and accountable leadership, to ensure that every single vote is accurately counted and every voice is heard."
How we got here
KXAN couldn't make a call on election night, or the days following, because the race was simply too close to call. Incumbent Mayor Kirk Watson went into the early morning Wednesday with 50.01% of the vote. A candidate must receive more than 50% to avoid a runoff.
But even with 100% of precincts unofficially counted election night, there were still ballots left -- overseas/military ballots, late mail ballots and provisional ballots -- which meant Watson could have been forced into a runoff with second-place Carmen Llanes Pulido. Now, those ballots have been counted and we can call the race.
This is a developing story and will be updated.