Incumbents prevail in Cleveland City Council primaries

• He advanced in the west side Ward 12 with 31% of the vote, according to unofficial results from the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections.
• Danny Kelly won handily there (49%) but was the only incumbent who did not earn more than 50% of the vote.

The big picture: Fewer seats are up for grabs this year after council's redistricting process shrunk the legislative body from 17 members to 15.

• That means incumbents are squaring off in two races.

Zoom in: Rebecca Maurer, whose existing ward was carved up in the new map, advanced to the general alongside incumbent Richard Starr in Ward 5 (Central, Downtown).

• But Starr won the primary decisively (69% to Maurer's 25%).
• Incumbents Mike Polensek and Anthony Hairston are facing each other in Ward 10 (Collinwood), though no primary was required.

Also: Austin Davis (56%) and Mohammad Faraj (33%) advanced in the open race in Ward 7 (Ohio City, Tremont, Detroit-Shoreway).

😬 Stunning stat: Fewer than 9,000 people — about 7% of registered voters — cast ballots citywide.