In a press release, Charles Francis announced that he will not seek a runoff in the Raleigh mayoral election. He had placed second to Mary-Ann Baldwin on Tuesday.
Baldwin is now the city’s mayor-elect.
“From this campaign’s inception through the evening of October 8, I fully expected to finish first,” Francis said. “However, that didn’t happen. After reviewing the results and analyzing a runoff race, I have concluded that the path to a runoff victory to re-connect with my voters and reach other voters concerned about our city would require an additional several hundred thousand dollars—more resources than available for an election just three weeks away. Therefore, though there was no clear mandate in the Mayor’s race for any candidate, I will not call for a runoff.”
On Tuesday, Baldwin secured 38 percent of the vote to Francis’s 31 percent.
“I’m just like shaking,” Baldwin, a former city council member, said when the INDY called Friday afternoon. She said Francis had called to concede and congratulate her. It was an “extremely gracious phone call.”
“I’m really gracious and appreciative,” Baldwin told the INDY, her voice quivering. “I’m stunned.”
There is no word yet on whether Russ Stephenson and Kay Crowder, who were behind in the counts for the at-large and District D city council races, were going to see runoffs. They have until next week to decide.
Contact editor in chief Jeffrey C. Billman at jbillman@indyweek.com.
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