The 2022 Austin mayoral election was held on November 8, 2022 to elect the next

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

. The election was nonpartisan; candidates' party affiliations did not appear on the ballot. Incumbent mayor Steve Adler was term-limited and could not run for re-election. In the general election, state representative Celia Israel and former mayor

Kirk Watson Kirk is a Scottish and former Northern English word meaning "church". It is often used specifically of the Church of Scotland. Many place names and personal names are also derived from it. Basic meaning and etymology As a common noun, ''kirk'' ...

took the first two spots, leading realtor Jennifer Virden and several other candidates. Because no candidate received more than 50% of the vote, the race proceeded to a runoff election between Israel and Watson on December 13, which Watson won by 30 votes. Due to the passage of Proposition D in 2021, which scheduled mayoral elections in Austin to coincide with

presidential elections A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The pr ...

, the winner of this election is to serve a shortened two-year term. The election occurred concurrently with district city council races.

Background

Though the election was officially nonpartisan, the runoff candidates, Celia Israel and

, were both affiliated with the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

. Jennifer Virden, who was third place, had a reputation of being conservative. Steven Pedigo, director of UT's LBJ Urban Lab, indicated that Watson's support was centralized with longtime residences of Austin in areas like the Northwest, and Israel's support was with younger demographics in growing and gentrifying areas of South and East Austin. According to Axios, Watson likely benefitted by the absence of Beto O’Rourke, who drew out younger and more progressive voters, from appearing on the runoff ballot. Furthermore, voters who supported more conservative Virden were more inclined to opt for Watson in the runoff.

Candidates

Declared

* Craig Blanchard, business owner (party affiliation: Democratic) * Anthony Bradshaw, security guard * Phil Campero Brual, Legislative intern and University of Texas at Austin government student * Celia Israel, state representative from the 50th district (party affiliation: Democratic) * Gary Spellman, business owner * Jennifer Virden, business owner and realtor *

, former president pro tempore of the

Texas Senate The Texas Senate ( es, Senado de Texas) is the upper house of the Texas State Legislature. There are 31 members of the Senate, representing single-member districts across the U.S. state of Texas, with populations of approximately 806,000 per co ...

from the 14th district and former mayor (party affiliation: Democratic)

Withdrew

* Erica Nix, fitness instructor, performance artist, and LGBT activist (''endorsed Israel'')

Declined

* Greg Casar,

city councilor A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural council ...

''( running for U.S. House)'' * Adam Loewy, attorney * Kathie Tovo,

Endorsements

Results

References

{{2022 United States elections Austin mayoral Austin Mayoral elections in Austin, Texas 2020s in Austin, Texas