In addition to the presidential race, Texas Senate race and many others, voters in Austin had another major contest to consider: the race for mayor.Current Mayor Kirk Watson appeared to narrowly avoid a runoff with 100% of precincts reporting him receiving 50.

Austin Mayor Kirk Watson is ahead in the city’s mayoral race with just over 50% of the vote, according to unofficial voting totals. It appears the incumbent might be able to eke out an outright win over his four

The city of Austin has turned out in high numbers on Election Day-- eager to elect the next mayor for the Captiol City.

Watson was forced into a runoff the last time he ran for mayor in 2022 even though he outraised his opponent Celia Israel by a 3 to 1. Watson garnered less of the vote on election night than Israel, but he then won by 886 votes in the runoff.

See photos from Austin mayoral candidate Kirk Watson's election night watch party. Microsoft's nuclear power partner Constellation Energy saw its stock drop on Monday as strong earnings couldn't overcome a ruling from the FERC late Friday that was pressuring nuclear stocks across the board.

With five candidates on the ballot, it takes at least a 50% vote total for a single candidate to not require a runoff.

Mayor Kirk Watson is defending his seat against four opponents. He needs to earn 50% of the vote, plus one vote, to avoid a runoff election in December.