Three Out of Five Austin City Council Races Go to Runoff

District 1 l-r: Amber Goodwin and Misael Ramos Credit: all images courtesy of campaigns

With so many strong candidates in the six-person race, this was always going to end in a runoff. Amber Goodwin and Misael Ramos will be in it after pushing ahead of the field on Tuesday, each with about 34% of the vote. “The fact that we are 73 votes separated from Amber – people are really hungry for bold and accountable leadership,” Ramos’ manager, Jeffrey Clemmons, told the Chronicle. Goodwin, finishing slightly ahead, wrote that she is “honored to have earned the most votes heading into the runoff,” crediting her coalition-building. “We’re ready for this runoff.”

District 3 l-r: Neha Shah and José Velásquez

The question in D3 was whether community organizer Neha Shah would be able to win enough votes to squeeze incumbent José Velásquez into a runoff. Turns out, yes, if barely. Shah earned about 25% of the vote to come in second to Velásquez, whose 47% fell just short of an outright victory. “This runoff is an invitation to us to do the job of representing every voter in District 3, and we are ready,” Shah posted on social media. Velásquez told the Chronicle he won’t be slowing down as he prepares for the runoff. “We’re not taking our foot off the gas,” he said. “We’ve got more doors to knock and more neighbors to reach. I’m excited for the next few weeks.” 

District 5 l-r: David Weinberg and Ryan Alter

The conventional wisdom was that this year’s election would be a “throw the bums out” contest, that voters were angry at City Council for asking residents to pay higher taxes via Prop Q, among other things. Of the three incumbent Council members up for reelection, Ryan Alter was considered the most vulnerable. But Alter made a good showing on Tuesday, garnering 48% of the vote. Now he heads to a runoff with David Weinberg, who came in second with 26%. “I’m confident [District 5 voters will] show that same support in the runoff so we can keep making the progress we need,” Alter said. Weinberg thanked voters for sending him to a runoff, stating in a press release that “Austinites are resolved to fight back against a broken political system, and elected leaders who will be accountable to their voters not their donors.”

Selena Xie District 8

This contest lost its juice when incumbent Paige Ellis was disqualified in September. That left contractor Jeffery Bowen, the seasoned critic of city government, as the only candidate challenging Austin-Travis County EMS Commander Selena Xie. Xie did what everyone expected her to do, winning D8 easily enough with 64% percent of the vote. “We did it,” Xie said in an Instagram post, echoing our new governor, Gina Hinojosa. “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I’m so proud, humbled, and honored to be the next Austin City Council member from District 8. Let’s get to work.” 

District 9

Incumbent Zo Qadri narrowly avoided a runoff on Tuesday after winning 51% of the vote in D9, defeating challengers Rich Heyman, Katie Kam, Kai Huang, and Dave Thadani. The contest got weird in its last weeks, with a member of Qadri’s staff calling UT police to report aggressive campaigning by Heyman. On Tuesday, Heyman responded by calling UTPD to complain about Qadri’s staff. With the win, Qadri is moving on. “Four years ago, we ran on the belief that Austin should be a city where everyone can afford to live, work, and build a future,” he said in a statement. “Tonight, voters gave us another four years to keep fighting for that vision.” 

The city of Austin runoff election takes place Dec. 12, 2026. Early voting runs Nov. 30-Dec. 8. The inauguration of new Council members takes place Jan. 6 at City Hall.

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