Democratic lawmaker Turner wins tight race for Houston mayor
Xinhua, December 13, 2015 Adjust font size:
The longtime Democratic lawmaker Sylvester Turner was elected on Saturday night as Houston's new mayor for the next two years after defeating his rival Republican businessman Bill King in a tight race.
The final results show the 61-year-old Turner beat King by more than 4,000 votes in Saturday's runoff. Early November, the 26-year state representative earned 31 percent of the vote to King's 25 percent, but saw that lead shrink as Election Day returned, according to local TV station ABC13.
Turner, who had two unsuccessful mayoral bids in 1991 and 2003, said after King conceded defeat that he would do his best to represent every single Houstonian in this city.
"In this room tonight you see a reflection of the city of Houston. Whether you voted for me or not as we move forward is irrelevant," Turner told supporters. "As far as I'm concerned, from this day as we move forward, I will do my very, very best to represent every single Houstonian in this city, whether you voted for me or not."
Houston, the nation's fourth-largest city, hasn't elected a Republican mayor in more than 30 years.
Turner's campaign was endorsed by U.S. President Barack Obama. Endi