Houston Mayor Annise Parker on Tuesday
won re-election for a third and final term.
“I love this city,” Parker told
supporters. “Tonight, I feel like it loves me back, so thank you
for the very warm welcome. Thank you. Thank you to the many people
who made this victory possible. I want to make Houston an even
better place to live, work and raise a family. I thank my family for
the great support that they always give me [and] the amount of time
they've taken to run the campaign.”
Seven candidates challenged Parker to
run the nation's fourth-largest city, however none of them received
enough votes to force a run-off election. Parker had taken 50 percent
of the votes with only 8 percent of precincts reporting. And her
lead continue to grow as votes poured in.
The 57-year-old Parker was first
elected in 2009, making Houston the largest city in the United Stated
led by an openly gay mayor.
(Related: Ed
Murray likely Seattle's first openly gay mayor.)