"The number is very, very, very encouraging," Mayor Sylvester Turner said of the early returns on Tuesday night. "We're about to run," Tony Buzbee said Tuesday night. "We are going to win."
Mayor Sylvester Turner is headed for a runoff in December against millionaire litigation attorney Tony Boozeby, according to unofficial results that showed an inconsistent failure to secure a majority of votes in Tuesday's election.
Turner, who hovered below the threshold needed to avoid a runoff for most of the night, ended up with a wide edge over Buzzbee, but less than the majority needed for an outside win.
Bill King, a lawyer and businessman who reduced 2015 runoff for Turner, but struggled this time to compete financially with Buzzbee, finished third and behind Buzzbee , Informal results appeared.
Councilor Dwight Boykins, who competed with Turner for the endorsement of Democratic and black voters, finished fourth, while former Councilman Sue Lovewell finished sixth. Seven other candidates combined for the remainder of the vote.
Just after 10 o'clock, Turner called George R. of the city of Houston. Brown stepped toward the third floor ballroom stage at the Convention Center, surrounded by local and statewide officials, including Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston and US Reps. Sylvia. Garcia, Sheila Jackson Lee and Al Green, all Democrats, shouted as the crowd chanted, "Four more years!"
"The numbers are very, very, very encouraging, in fact, I would say they are super encouraging," Turner said. "We just arrived. We know it's going to be a long evening ... but today was an incredible day of voting."
He predicted a surge of voters on Tuesday, pulling out of some prefixes before 7pm that would be good for re-election.
"I believe that voting today will be good for the Turner campaign," he said. "It's going to be a long night, but I think it's going to be a good night."
Boogeby was at the stage of his watch party at 10 a.m., describing a humble upbringing in a small East Texas town and now the feeling of becoming mayor of Houston.
"We're about to run," he said. "we are going to win."
The celebratory crowd of golden-clad supporters "I used to vote for Tony Buzzbee" stickers were handed to them as they arrived at the Crowne Plaza Hotel near NRG Stadium.
Wearing his Marine camouflage shirt over a black T-shirt, Buzbee told his mother that she loved him, and how great his campaign treasurer is and taking time to get to the point, describing himself as such people Those who represent the people. Ignored
"Our city is better than what we have now," he sighed before exiting the stage.
King did not refuse on Tuesday evening, but he left his election night party at the Cadillac bar at 10 pm, soon after accepting the serious-looking results.
The king said, "We live in a very hopeless political time." “We live in a time when hyper-partisan, loud voices are prevalent in this country. It looks like they can win this election tonight, although there are still a lot of votes to be counted. "
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Hobby School of Public Affairs senior director Renee Cross said Turner's chances would increase once Fort Bend County's results came through, although it was too early to tell if it would be enough for the mayor.
Still, she said, early results showed that "there is no urgency in trying to replace Meyer." And Democrats, and Turner, would have a big partisan runoff edge, which he did in his narrow 2015 win, Cross added.
"The national mood is definitely supporting Democrats," she said. "We see that in returns in other states. The Gubernatorial troubadour in Kentucky and the Democrats carrying the Legislature in Virginia are evidence of this. "
The election follows months of enthusiastic campaigning by Turner and his top enemies, who have intensified a labor dispute with Hurricane Harvey Recovery and the Houston Firers Union, managing the city's $ 5 billion budget in the mayor's first term.
Turner fiercely defended his record, arguing that he guided the city through Harvey and helped prevent widespread budget gaps by reforming the city's troubled pension systems. He has also continued that the city cannot afford a safe payment by firefighters through a ballot referendum, which a judge later overturned.
After ending a widely anticipated rematch between Turner and King, Buzzbee entered the race in October 2018 and wasted no time in stopping his attacks on Turner, accusing Meyer of indulging in corruption and dynasty - an allegation Turner denied.
King announced his candidacy in February and built his platform around the same theme, repeating his "Back to Basics" campaign theme from 2015, when he lost to Turner by nearly 2 percentage points.
By the beginning of September, Turner largely ignored his enemies when he began participating in candidate forums, only to be answered by a campaign spokesman. Once he began to confront his opponents directly, Turner concentrated his attacks on Buzbee, considering the deep-pocketed lawyer his greatest threat.
Boozeby is self-financing his entire campaign and has considerable dues in Turner and the rest of the field, disbursing $ 8.7 million of the $ 10 million he had put into his campaign account at the end of October.
Buzzbee has portrayed himself as nonpartisan and independent, stating that he wants to talk about his plan for the city rather than being caught in a partial label. Turner has worked particularly hard to tie Boozie to President Donald Trump, however, noting that Buzzbee once hosted a fundraiser for Trump and donated to his inauguration.