Austin 2026 election results
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios
Voters in Austin gave one Austin City Council incumbent another four years while two others couldn't quite avoid a runoff.
Driving the news: In District 9, incumbent Zohaib "Zo" Qadri earned 51.4% of the vote, defeating Rich Heyman (24.7%) and Katie Kam (17.5%) and two other candidates, in a central city district where the race became a referendum on dense development in the city's older neighborhoods.
- In District 5, which includes the Zilker and Barton Hills neighborhoods, incumbent Ryan Alter (47.8% of the vote) will face David Weinberg (26.2%) in a runoff. The race was focused on City Council spending, homelessness and safety.
- In District 3, which includes a swath of South Austin and straddles the Colorado River east of I-35, incumbent José Velásquez (47.4% of the vote) will face Neha Shah (24.7%) in a runoff.
Zoom out: Amber Goodwin and Misael Ramos will head to a runoff to represent District 1, an open seat covering East and northeast Austin.
- And in District 8, which encompasses much of Southwest Austin, Selena Xie, an EMS commander and labor leader, defeated Jeffery Bowen, a neighborhood leader, to replace Paige Ellis, who failed in her petition efforts to get on the ballot for a third term.
The big picture: The City Council determines the city budget, sets the city's property tax rate and oversees city operations.
Follow the money: Austin voters also approved a pair of bond measures that would raise $295 million to support parks and libraries.
- The bonds will cost about $50 per year for an average homeowner.
- And in a win for progressives, voters rejected a proposition that calls for an outside audit of city finances. Opponents of the measure had argued it would lead to funding cuts. The political action committee Save Austin Now, which argues for fiscal constraints, supported it as a check on city spending.
What's next: The runoff elections will be Dec. 12.