2022 Austin mayoral election

2022 Austin mayoral election

←  2018 November 8, 2022 (first round) December 13, 2022 (runoff) 2024  →
Turnout	52.33% (first round)
Candidate Kirk Watson Celia Israel Jennifer Virden First round 106,508 35.0% 121,862 40.0% 56,189 18.4% Runoff 57,565 50.4% 56,623 49.6% Eliminated
First round results by precinct Runoff results by precinct Precinct results Watson:     30–40%     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80-90%     >90% Israel:     30–40%     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80-90%     >90%      No votes Virden:     30–40%     40–50%     50–60%     >90%      No votes
Mayor before election Steve Adler Elected mayor Kirk Watson

The 2022 Austin mayoral election was held on November 8, 2022, to elect the next mayor of Austin, Texas. 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 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 924 votes. ^[1]

Due to the passage of Proposition D in 2021, which scheduled mayoral elections in Austin to coincide with presidential elections, the winner of this election served a shortened two-year term. ^[2]

The election occurred concurrently with district city council races.

Background

Though the election was officially nonpartisan, the runoff candidates, Celia Israel and Kirk Watson, were both affiliated with the Democratic Party. ^[3] Jennifer Virden, who was third place, had a reputation of being conservative. ^[4]

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. ^[5] 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. ^[5]

Candidates

Declared

• Craig Blanchard, business owner (party affiliation: Democratic) ^[6]
• Anthony Bradshaw, security guard ^[7]
• Phil Campero Brual, Legislative intern and University of Texas at Austin government student ^{[8] [9]}
• Celia Israel, state representative from the 50th district (party affiliation: Democratic) ^[10]
• Gary Spellman, business owner ^[11]
• Jennifer Virden, business owner and realtor ^[12]
• Kirk Watson, former president pro tempore of the Texas Senate from the 14th district and former mayor (party affiliation: Democratic) ^[13]

Withdrew

• Erica Nix, fitness instructor, performance artist, and LGBT activist (endorsed Israel) ^{[14] [15]}

Declined

• Greg Casar, city councilor (ran for U.S. House) ^[16]
• Adam Loewy, attorney ^[17]
• Kathie Tovo, city councilor ^[18]

Endorsements

Celia Israel

U.S. Representatives

• Joaquin Castro, U.S. Representative from TX-20 ^[19]

State legislators

• Vikki Goodwin, state representative from the 47th district ^{[19] [20]}
• Donna Howard, state representative from the 48th district ^{[19] [20]}
• John Bucy, state representative from the 136th district ^{[19] [20]}
• Lulu Flores, state representative-elect from the 51st district

Local officials

• Dana Debeauvoir, former Travis County Clerk ^[19]
• Delia Garza, Travis County Attorney ^{[19] [20]}
• Natasha Harper-Madison Austin City Councillor, District 1 ^[20]
• Vanessa Fuentes, Austin City Councillor, District 2 ^[20]
• José "Chito" Vela, Austin City Councillor, District 4 ^[20]
• Jimmy Flannigan, former Austin City Councillor, District 6 ^[20]
• Chris Riley, former Austin City Councillor, At-Large ^[20]

Organizations

• AURA: An Austin for Everyone ^[21]
• Circle C Democrats ^[22]
• EMILY's List ^[23]
• Jolt Action ^[24]
• Latino Victory Fund ^{[19] [20]}
• LGBTQ Victory Fund ^{[19] [25] [20]}
• LPAC ^{[19] [26]}
• Northeast Travis County Democrats ^{[20] [19]}
• Stonewall Democrats of Austin ^[27]
• Texas College Democrats ^[28]
• University Democrats ^[27]
• Williamson County Democrats ^[29]

Newspapers

• Austin-American Statesman ^[30]
• The Austin Chronicle ^[31]
• Hyde Parker Magazine ^[32]

Kirk Watson

State legislators

• Sheryl Cole, state Representative from the 46th district
• Wendy Davis, former state Senator from the 10th district and 2014 Democratic nominee for Governor of Texas

Local officials

• Andy Brown, Travis County Judge
• Jeff Travillion, Travis County Commissioner
• Brigid Shea, Travis County Commissioner
• Ann Howard, Travis County Commissioner
• Sally Hernandez, Travis County Sheriff
• Pio Renteria, Austin City Councillor, District 3
• Ann Kitchen, Austin City Councillor, District 5
• Leslie Pool, Austin City Councillor, District 7
• Alison Alter, Austin City Councillor, District 10

Labor Unions

• AFSCME, Local 1624
• Austin Central Labor Council
• Austin EMS Association
• Austin Firefighter's Association
• Workers Defense Action Fund

Organizations

• Austin Board of Realtors
• Black Austin Democrats
• Central Austin Democrats
• Real Estate Council of Austin (RECA)

Jennifer Virden

Municipal officials

• Lee Leffingwell, former mayor of Austin (2009–2015) ^[17]
• Ron Mullen, former mayor of Austin (1983–1985) ^[17]

Declined to endorse

• Steve Adler, mayor of Austin ^[33]

Debates

First round

A candidate forum was held on October 28 in the Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library. ^[34]

No.	Date	Host	Moderator	Link	Nonpartisan	Nonpartisan	Nonpartisan	Nonpartisan	Nonpartisan	Nonpartisan
Key:  P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited  W  Withdrawn
					Anthony Bradshaw	Phil Brual	Celia Israel	Gary Spellman	Jennifer Virden	Kirk Watson
1	Oct. 5, 2022	Austin Monitor KUT		YouTube	P	P	P	P	P	P
2	Oct. 12, 2022	Austin PBS	Sonta Henderson	YouTube	A	P	P	A	A	P
3	Oct. 18, 2022	Austin American-Statesman KVUE	Ashley Goudeau Ryan Autullo	YouTube	P	P	P	P	P	P

Runoff

No.	Date	Host	Moderator	Link	Nonpartisan	Nonpartisan
Key:  P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited  W  Withdrawn
					Celia Israel	Kirk Watson
1	Dec. 1, 2022	KXAN-TV	Daniel Marin Britt Moreno	YouTube	P	P
2	Dec. 5, 2022	KVUE	Ashley Goudeau	KVUE	P	P

Results

2022 Austin mayoral general election ^[35]

Candidate		Votes	%
Celia Israel		121,862	39.99%
Kirk Watson		106,508	34.95%
Jennifer Virden		56,189	18.44%
Phil Campero Brual		7,295	2.39%
Anthony Bradshaw		7,102	2.33%
Gary Spellman		5,781	1.90%
Voter turnout		%

2022 Austin mayoral runoff ^[36]

Candidate		Votes	%
Kirk Watson		57,565	50.4%
Celia Israel		56,623	49.6%
Voter turnout		%

References

1. "Results" . Retrieved February 27, 2024.
2. Miznazi, Ashley (May 1, 2021). "Props D and E pass, changing how Austin elections work". KXAN Austin. Retrieved November 21, 2021.
3. Fechter, Joshua; Dey, Sneha (November 9, 2022). "Austin mayor's race heading to a runoff, Dallas county judge wins reelection". The Texas Tribune . Retrieved November 29, 2022.
4. Saldaña, Sean (August 24, 2022). "Virden positions herself as the 'common-sense' candidate for mayor". Austin Monitor.
5. Price, Asher (November 10, 2022). "Austin mayor's race results show a cleaved Austin". Axios . Retrieved November 29, 2022.
6. "One added to mayoral lineup as Littlefield tweets candidate facts".
7. Saldaña, Sean (October 25, 2022). "Anthony Bradshaw wants 'to see an Austin, Texas, that is successful'". Austin Monitor. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
8. "Campaign Treasurer Appointment Forms - Master List | AustinTexas.gov". www.austintexas.gov. Retrieved June 3, 2022.
9. "Austin mayoral candidate unveils 6-part housing affordability plan". KXAN Austin. June 2, 2022. Retrieved June 14, 2022.
10. Barragán, James (January 11, 2022). "State Rep. Celia Israel announces run for Austin mayor". The Texas Tribune . Archived from the original on January 12, 2022. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
11. Saldaña, Sean (September 29, 2022). "Gary Spellman looks to disrupt Austin politics". Austin Monitor. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
12. Eubank, Britny (November 9, 2021). "Jennifer Virden is running for mayor of Austin in 2022". kvue.com.
13. "Austin American-Statesman".
14. Mekelburg, Madlin (September 22, 2021). "State Rep. Celia Israel launches exploratory committee for Austin mayor in 2022". Austin American-Statesman.
15. "Nix drops out of mayoral race, issues endorsement for Israel". Austin Monitor. September 1, 2022. Retrieved September 5, 2022.
16. Lindell, Chuck (November 4, 2021). "Greg Casar to leave Austin City Council, run for Congress". Austin American-Statesman. Gannett. Archived from the original on November 5, 2021.
17. Freer, Emma (June 22, 2021). "Conservative District 10 challenger Jennifer Virden announces run for Austin mayor". Austonia.
18. Guzmán, Andrea (November 8, 2021). "Conservative Jennifer Virden officially announces run for Austin Mayor". Austonia.
19. "Celia Israel seeks to be a progressive voice for Austin". Austin Monitor. August 12, 2022.
20. "Israel and Watson vie for endorsements of influential Democrat groups". Austin Monitor. September 16, 2022.
21. "Blog".
22. "Unions Bet on Mayoral Candidate Kirk Watson". The Austin Chronicle. September 9, 2022.
23. "State and Local Candidates".
24. "Election Ticker: Southwest Council Races Illuminate Dual Political Divides".
25. "LGBTQ Victory Fund Endorses 80 More LGBTQ Candidates, Including Robert Zimmerman for U.S. Congress". www.victoryfund.org. LGBTQ Victory Fund . Retrieved February 25, 2022.
26. "Endorsed Candidates". LPAC.
27. "Election Ticker: They Ban, We Plan Celia Israel and Kirk Watson answer urbanists, Israel lays out repro rights plan, and more". The Austin Chronicle. September 23, 2022.
28. "Celia Israel on Instagram: "🚨ENDORSEMENT ALERT🚨". Instagram. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
29. "Endorsements".
30. "Endorsement: Israel offers best vision to lead as Austin mayor". Austin-American Statesman. October 23, 2022. Retrieved November 30, 2022.
31. "Celia Israel on Instagram: "🚨📰 BREAKING: WE'VE BEEN ENDORSED BY @AustinChronicle!". Instagram. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
32. "Hyde Parker Magazine Endorses Celia Israel for Mayor".
33. Autullo, Ryan (November 7, 2022). "Change of plan: Steve Adler not endorsing anybody in Austin mayoral race". Austin-American Statesman. Retrieved November 30, 2022.
34. "Austin Mayoral Forum". Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum . Retrieved March 28, 2025.
35. "Results" . Retrieved December 2, 2022.
36. "Mayoral election in Austin, Texas (2022)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved May 29, 2024.