2024 Austin mayoral election
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 Precinct results Watson: 30–40% 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70-80% 100% Pulido: 30–40% 40–50% Tie No votes | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 2024 Austin mayoral election was held on November 5, 2024, to elect the next mayor of Austin, Texas.[1] The election was nonpartisan; the candidates' party affiliations did not appear on the ballot. Incumbent mayor Kirk Watson was running for re-election, after returning to the position of mayor following the 2022 election.[2] On November 15, over a week after election day, Watson was declared the apparent winner of the race after securing 50.0041% of the vote. In the final tally, Watson was a mere 13 votes over the cutoff to avoid a runoff with Carmen Llanes Pulido.[3]
Due to the passage of Prop D in 2021, this is the first Austin mayoral election to coincide with a presidential election.[4]
Declared
- Jeffery Bowen, member of the Austin Board of Adjustment[5]
- Doug Greco, nonprofit executive and author of To Find a Killer (party affiliation: Democratic)[6]
- Carmen Llanes Pulido, former Austin Planning Commission member (party affiliation: Democratic)[7]
- Kathie Tovo, former city councilor from the 9th district (2011–2023) (party affiliation: Democratic)[8]
- Kirk Watson, incumbent mayor (party affiliation: Democratic)[9]
Debates
| No. | Date | Host | Moderator | Link | Nonpartisan | Nonpartisan | Nonpartisan | Nonpartisan | Nonpartisan |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Key: P Participant A Absent N Not invited I Invited W Withdrawn |
|||||||||
| Jeffery Bowen | Doug Greco | Carmen Pulido | Kathie Tovo | Kirk Watson | |||||
| 1[10] | Sep. 25, 2022 | Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs KLRU KUT The Daily Texan Univision Austin |
Francheska Castillo Luz Moreno-Lozano |
KLRU | P | P | P | P | P |
| 2[11] | Oct. 17, 2022 | KXAN-TV | Tom Miller Jennifer Sanders |
YouTube | P | P | P | P | P |
Results
Following election day, unofficial results from Travis, Williamson and Hays County, with 100% of the precincts reporting, showed incumbent mayor Kirk Watson with 50.01% of the vote and 31 raw votes over the 50% plus one threshold to avoid a runoff with Pulido.[12] At the time, there remained some outstanding ballots yet to be processed, including overseas and military ballots, provisional ballots, and mail-in ballots received the day after election day. On November 13, over a week after election day, the election had still not been called, with an estimated 3,200 provisional ballots yet to be reviewed.[13][14]
On November 15, KXAN declared Watson the apparent winner of the race after the uncertified final tally showed him with 50.0041% of the vote and 14 raw votes over the threshold to avoid a runoff. Subsequently, Watson declared victory in the race, while Pulido refused to concede saying the race remained too close to call. Travis County and Williamson County did a canvas on November 15 and November 19, respectively, while Hays County's results were official by November 15. On November 18, a final batch of 20 provisional ballots were added from Travis County, with Watson 13 votes above the threshold.[15] The deadline, according to the Texas Secretary of State, for the posts to be finalized was November 19.[16][17]
On November 21, Pulido requested a recount of 11 specific precincts in Williamson County, but her request was refused because state law demands the recount to be of the entire jurisdiction rather than select parts.[18] On November 22, Pulido conceded the race and said she would not be pursuing a recount or any further actions challenging the outcome.[19]
| Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kirk Watson | 175,096 | 50.0041% | |
| Carmen Llanes Pulido | 70,550 | 20.14% | |
| Kathie Tovo | 58,280 | 16.64% | |
| Jeffrey Bowen | 29,383 | 8.39% | |
| Doug Greco | 16,865 | 4.82% | |
References
- ↑ Reader, Grace (December 26, 2023). "LIST: Who's running for Austin City Council, mayor in 2024?". KXAN-TV. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
- ↑ Price, Asher (January 24, 2024). "Austin mayoral race heats up". Axios. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
- ↑ Adams, Christopher (November 19, 2024). "MAP: How did your neighborhood vote in Austin's mayoral election?". KXAN.
- ↑ Miznazi, Ashley (May 1, 2021). "Props D and E pass, changing how Austin elections work". KXAN-TV. Retrieved November 21, 2021.
- ↑ Moreno-Lozano, Luz (August 20, 2024). "Jeffery Bowen becomes fifth candidate to enter Austin mayoral race". KUT. Retrieved August 24, 2024.
- ↑ Moreno-Lozano, Luz (February 5, 2024). "Doug Greco, former director of Central Texas Interfaith, enters race for Austin mayor". KUT. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
- ↑ Finnerty, Katharine (January 24, 2024). "Community organizer Carmen Llanes Pulido enters the Austin mayoral race". Spectrum News. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
- ↑ Moreno-Lozano, Luz (January 19, 2024). "Former City Council Member Kathie Tovo enters race to become Austin mayor". KUT. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
- ↑ McCarthy, Ella (April 10, 2024). "Austin Mayor Kirk Watson to run for reelection; 4th candidate so far on November ballot". Austin American-Statesman.
- ↑ "2024 LBJ Austin Mayoral Forum". Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs. Retrieved March 28, 2025.
- ↑ Reader, Grace; Russ, Julianna (October 17, 2024). "WATCH: Replay of Austin mayoral debate". KXAN-TV. Retrieved March 28, 2025.
- ↑ "Election results: Kirk Watson appears to narrowly avoid runoff to win race for Austin mayor". kvue.com. November 6, 2024. Retrieved November 7, 2024.
- ↑ "Why the Austin mayoral race is still too close to call". KXAN Austin. November 6, 2024. Retrieved November 7, 2024.
- ↑ "When will the Austin mayoral race be called?". KXAN Austin. November 11, 2024. Retrieved November 13, 2024.
- ↑ "20 Travis County ballots added to election totals Monday night, Watson still on top". KXAN Austin. November 19, 2024. Retrieved November 21, 2024.
- ↑ McCarthy, Ella. "Kirk Watson declares victory in mayoral race while Carmen Llanes Pulido holds out hope". Austin American-Statesman. Retrieved November 15, 2024.
- ↑ "Mayor Kirk Watson apparent winner in Austin mayoral race". KXAN Austin. November 15, 2024. Retrieved November 15, 2024.
- ↑ "Carmen Llanes Pulido requests recount in Austin mayoral race, petition 'defective'". KXAN Austin. November 21, 2024. Retrieved November 25, 2024.
- ↑ "Austin mayoral candidate Carmen Llanes Pulido drops recount pursuit, concedes race". KUT Radio, Austin's NPR Station. November 22, 2024.
External links
- Official campaign websites for mayoral candidates
- Jeff Bowen for Mayor
- Dave Greco (D) for Mayor
- Carmen Llanes Pulido (D) for Mayor
- Kathie Tovo (D) for Mayor
- Kirk Watson (D) for Mayor
- Ballotpedia - Mayoral election in Austin, Texas (2024)
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