Austin City Council District 1 candidates Natasha Harper-Madison and Mariana Salazar will square off in a runoff for the seat, according to final but unofficial election results.

Salazar received 26 percent of the vote from Tuesday's race and Harper-Madison received 25 percent. The two edged out Vincent Harding, widely considered a front-runner, who ended up with 23 percent, as well as three other contenders and a write-in candidate. The runoff will be Dec. 11 runoff.

Harding, the former chairman of the Travis County Democratic Party, was the favorite of outgoing City Council Member Ora Houston and raised the most money for the race. Harper-Madison, a proponent of more housing, was the favorite of local urbanists. Salazar, a Venezuelan immigrant and a former homeless advocate, drew attention for her strong grassroots campaign.

If Salazar is elected, it will mean a Hispanic woman replaces Austin’s only African-American representative on the council.

BACKGROUND: In District 1 race, seven candidates do best to stand out

Reached just after midnight, both women said they were exhausted and waiting to think about the runoff until after a night's sleep.

"I'm exhausted but I'm so happy," Salazar said. "I was the underdog in the race in so many ways... I don't have any paid staff, I don't have any big endorsements, I just have the community behind me. I've been block-walking for months now."

Criminal justice activist Lewis Conway, who sought to challenge a Texas ban on felons holding office with his run, received 11 percent of the vote. Reedy Spigner, a state grant monitor with longtime roots in the district, received nearly 5 percent, and Mitrah Avini received 9 percent.

Harper-Madison, 41, became involved in local community activism groups after a cancer diagnosis three years ago. She carved out a niche as a pro-density urbanist, a political identity she said she stumbled into as she realized how the lack of housing was affecting Austin. She also worries about social services and, if elected, would like to hire “community quarterbacks” to help neighborhoods connect more readily with city services.



Salazar, 37, took some by surprise when she began to gain momentum with a sharp, busy campaign focused largely on how to further stalled attempts to bring resources to the district. She worked previously for the Ending Community Homelessness Coalition and said she was partially drawn to run in response to anti-immigrant rhetoric in recent years.