HOUSTON – For the second time in a little over a month, Houston mayor Sylvester Turner will fight to win a second term as mayor Saturday.
Turner was forced into a runoff with the second-place finisher, millionaire Tony Buzbee when he was unable to secure the required votes to win outright in November. Turner far out-paced Buzbee in November, securing 46% of the votes to Buzbee’s 28%.
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The big question Saturday: Can Buzbee close the gap?
Unlike the previous election, there will only be two names on the ballot Saturday. With fewer candidates, the votes that previously went to other challengers like Bill King and Dwight Boykins will now be split between Turner and Buzbee. As a result, Buzbee may be able to close the 18-point margin between him and Turner.
What the candidates say
A day after the November election, both Buzbee and Turner said they were optimistic about the rematch. They each echoed that sentiment to KPRC 2 on Friday.
"I’ve been involved in several races, in each one no matter what the predictions were you always run a little nervous and you run like you’re 20 points behind, I don’t care who you are,” Turner said.
Buzbee said he and his campaign staff are looking to galvanize their voters.
“We’ve knocked on a half-million doors. We’re doing 25,000 calls a day. If you look at the early vote returns, the places that turned out the most are the places where we are going to get most of our support. So I’m feeling good,” Buzbee said.
Each candidate will criss-cross the city on Saturday. Turner said he will attend several events around town to encourage people to vote, while Buzbee said he plans to visit the various polling locations across Houston to express his appreciation to his supporters.
The Harris County Clerk’s Office released the unofficial totals Wednesday for early and absentee votes. See how they compare to the previous election:
| By Nov. 1 | By Dec. 10 | |
|---|---|---|
| Mailed in Ballots | 15,304 | 18,935 |
| Early in-person voters | 137,460 | 96,269 |
| Unofficial total | 152,764 | 115,204 |
What political analysts say
Rice University political science professor Mark Jones said the latest polls show Turner leading Buzbee.
“There’s no doubt Sylvester Turner is going to win this election,” Jones said. “The only question remains is by how much and what his margin of victory over Tony Buzbee will be.
University of Houston-Downtown political science chair, Dr. David Branham echoed Jones’ analysis.
“I would say that there is virtually no chance that the gap (between Turner and Buzbee) will be closed enough to matter,” he told KPRC 2 via an email.
Branham said he didn’t believe Buzbee had done enough to help his runoff bid.
“If anything he has hurt himself. There are no new revelations and his appeal to conservatives is really waning,” Branham wrote. “His speeches have also been a rambling wreck since election night.”
Millionaire Buzbee has poured a lot of money into his campaign, while famously refusing to accept any political donations. However, Branham doesn’t believe it’s helped his cause.
“This election shows that money helps, but it isn’t enough,” Branham wrote. “All of the attack ads and anti-Turner stories just simply were not enough to overcome a candidate with a long history of public service and the ability to make coalitions with former political rivals.”
What to know tomorrow
- Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday
- There are 385 polling locations and voters do not need to go an assigned location
- You can vote in the runoff even if you didn’t vote in November
- A list of polling locations is available on the Harris County Clerk’s website.
- More information about the Dec. 14 runoff is available on the Harris Votes website.