HOUSTON -- City controller Annise Parker and former city attorney Gene Locke claimed the two runoff spots Tuesday for Houston's mayor, KPRC Local 2 reported.

Parker, 52, who would be the first openly gay mayor of Houston and the second woman to lead the city, had almost 31 percent of the vote with 100 percent of the precincts counted.

Parker spent far less money than some of her opponents, but had high name recognition from a dozen years in public office.

"Money doesn't vote. People vote and I have the people," she said. "We can claim victory for this phase of the campaign, but it's not over until it's over. Now let's get back to work. We're going to win this in five weeks."

Former city attorney Gene Locke, with 25 percent, led architect and urban planner Peter Brown, with 23 percent.

"We can come together as a city. We can work together, bring people together who have not worked together before and make this city safe, create jobs and business opportunities," Locke said. "It's something when I'm mayor, we will do every day."

A fourth major candidate, county school trustee Roy Morales, had more than 20 percent.

Brown was by far the biggest spender in the race, while Morales had the least amount of campaign money.

A runoff is needed if no one received 50 percent of the vote Tuesday.

Elections officials who expected a 25 percent turnout revised their forecast to as little as half that amount.

Brown, 72, a two-term Houston city councilman, sank more than $2 million of his wife's wealth into his bid to succeed Bill White, who is term-limited after six years in office.

Locke, 61, would be the city's second black mayor, and Morales, 53, would be Houston's first Hispanic mayor.

Except for Brown's expenditures -- bankrolled primarily from the fortune of his wife, oil-field services heiress Anne Schlumberger -- the race was noteworthy for its lack of fireworks.

Brown's cash stockpile allowed him to boost name recognition because he was able to run broadcast ads far earlier than his chief opponents, then blanket the city of nearly 2 1/2 million with mailings and more commercials as the election neared.

Still, no clear favorite emerged. Independent pre-election polls showed Brown with a slight edge, although "Don't Know" was the favored response among those surveyed.

"The race started slow and lost momentum, characterized by a civility rarely observed in an open race for one of the most powerful mayor positions in the United States," said Richard Murray, director of surveying for the University of Houston Center for Public Policy.

"Voters hardly seemed aware they had to choose a replacement" for White, he said.

Brown touted his "blueprint" for the city, stressing greater efficiencies to create jobs, protect neighborhoods, take better care of resources and combat the city's legendary traffic, recurring flooding and crime.

His campaign pitch, however, wasn't much different from the other hopefuls.

Parker said her six years on city council, followed by six years as city controller where she reviewed city spending, would allow her to immediately step into the top job.

Locke attracted endorsements and financial backing from business leaders, cashing in on his three-year tenure in the 1990s as city attorney under popular mayor Bob Lanier, who supported him. Locke cultivated city insiders since then as legal counsel to several government agencies.

Morales' minuscule campaign fundraising kept him off TV and radio.

The race was nonpartisan although Brown, Locke and Parker are Democrats. Morales, a retired Air Force officer, offered himself as an alternative, a conservative Republican in a city that's largely Democrat, about 25 percent black and one-third Hispanic.

Incumbent White, who did not endorse a successor, plans to seek the Democratic nomination to succeed U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison if she resigns as expected this year to run against Texas Gov. Rick Perry.

No Major Problems At Polling Places

Outside polling places on Election Day, there was a last-minute push for voters. Inside polling places, many voting booths stood empty as voters trickled in to cast their ballots.

Some voters were undecided up to the last minute on who should lead Houston.

"I came to vote, but I'm not sure who I'm voting for yet," Katherine Briggs said.

Briggs said the mayoral race sparked her interest in this election.

"I have it narrowed down to two choices," she said. "I'm just going to go with my instincts as I stand there and look at them."

Mayoral candidates Brown, Locke, Parker and Morales continued to campaign until the polls closed. They were vying to finish in first and second place to make it into a runoff election.

Voter turnout was expected to be low, but many who did choose to vote turned out early.

"I just wanted to get out and vote," Anthony Baker said. "I'm really interested in getting the right person in office behind (Mayor) Bill White to make sure they get our communities in order."

"I think it's really important to vote," Beverly Newman said. "I was reading last night and it seems like there's some really good issues out there and I want to make sure I have my say in them."

There was confusion at some polling places as some people showed up at the wrong ones.

"I've always voted early, and because of that, I just assumed this was my place … and I think it used to be," Susie Hoyer said.

The Harris County Clerk's Office said no major problems were reported at any polling place.

The polls closed at 7 p.m.