Keith Wilson has early lead in Portland mayor race
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Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios
Keith Wilson has a sizable early lead in Portland's mayoral race, though in the city's first-ever ranked-choice election, it could take days to determine a winner.
Why it matters: Whoever wins will usher the city into a new era and a new form of government.
Context: The new power setup, known as a mayor-council model, means the mayor will act as the public-facing voice for the city, breaking ties on the council and managing day-to-day operations with a new city administrator.
By the numbers: As of 8pm Tuesday, Wilson — the CEO of a green energy trucking company — was ahead with 63% of the vote, with sitting Portland Commissioner Carmen Rubio trailing behind with 37%.
What they're saying: "We've shown we can bring together folks from every walk of life and every corner of our city and create a coalition to bring real change to Portland," Wilson told Axios in an emailed statement.
- His single-issue platform of ending unsheltered homelessness appears to have resonated with many voters.
- Wilson noted that there are still votes to count, but he "can't wait to get to work."
Caveat: Candidates with early leads in the first ballot drop are not necessarily favored to win the race, Multnomah County elections director Tim Scott told Axios earlier this week.
- A candidate will win if they receive more than 50% of first-choice votes.
- If no candidate reaches that threshold in the first round, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated. Then, the voters who selected the eliminated candidate as their top choice have their votes transferred to their second pick, and so on until a winner is declared.
What's next: Multnomah County elections officials are expected to publish updated results at 6pm Wednesday and throughout the week.
Editor's note: This story has been updated to add a new quote from Wilson.