Update: 9:40 p.m.
Ivy Taylor becomes San Antonio's first elected African-American Mayor.
Update 9:35 p.m.
Texas Public Radio's Shelley Kofler has reported that former State Senator Leticia Van de Putte has conceded, saying she was proud of the race they ran.
TPR's Joey Palacios reports the crowds at now Mayor Ivy Taylor's watch party going wild. With 96 percent of San Antonio's votes counted, Taylor captured 49,430 or 52 percent of the vote to Van de Putte's 48 percent.
With that, Ivy Taylor becomes the first elected African-American Mayor of San Antonio.
Update 9:25 p.m.
Interim Mayor Ivy Taylor supporters are already celebrating a victory in the race for San Antonio Mayor, according to Texas Public Radio's David Martin Davies.
With 95 percent of the vote in, Taylor was able to gain back some of the lead that Van de Putte had carved out in day-of voting.
Update: 9:20 p.m.
3000 votes and 3 points are all that separate interim Mayor Ivy Taylor from former State Senator Leticia Van de Putte. With 95 percent of the vote counted though, Van de Putte's campaign will need to see a strong showing in the final stretch to overcome this gap.
Van de Putte's campaign predicted a strong day-of showing at the polls which has not materialized. Her campaign has garnered only 300 more votes today then rival Taylor.
Update 8:50 p.m.
Texas Public Radio has confirmed with Mari Aguirre-Rodriguez that she has conceded to Council Member Cris Medina in the Council race for District 7. She says that it was a "David vs Goliath effort" to bring Medina to a runoff, and that she hopes he can bring the district together.
Update 8:40 p.m.
Nearly 70 percent of the votes for San Antonio Mayor have been counted and the race gets tighter with only two points separating leader Interim Mayor Ivy Taylor from former State Senator Leticia Van de Putte.
In Council District 7, 82 percent of the vote has been counted and Council Member Cris Medina continues to lead by nine points over challenger Mari Aguirre-Rodriguez.
Update 8:28 p.m.
Just over half the vote has been tallied in the Mayoral election. Interim Mayor Ivy Taylor retains her three-point lead over former State Senator Leticia Van de Putte. This includes a significant amount of the west side, where Van de Putte was counting on a strong showing today. The vote count is as follows: Taylor 41,940 votes to Van de Putte 39,544.
More than two-thirds have been counted in the district seven city council race. Council Member Cris Medina continues his strong lead of 9 points over Mari Aguirre-Rodriguez.
Update 8:08 p.m.
With 32 percent of today's vote in, Interim Mayor Ivy Taylor leads former State Senator Leticia Van de Putte 51 percent to 48 percent.
In the district seven race, Council Member Cris Medina holds onto his 9-point lead over Mari Aguirre-Rodriguez.
Update 7:55 p.m.
With 5 percent of today's vote counted, Interim Mayor Ivy Taylor leads with 52.23 percent, losing a quarter of a percent to former State Sen. Leticia Van de Putte who trails by 5 percent.
In district 7, no change in the nine-point lead held by incumbent City Council Member Cris Medina over challenger Mari Aguirr-Rodriguez.
Update 7:50 p.m.
Christian Archer, campaign manager for Leticia Van de Putte, tells media that 50,000 San Antonians voted today and that Van de Putte will receive the lion share.
According to TPR's David Martin Davies, Archer says he isn't certain it will be enough to close the gap but predicts a late night.
Update 7:30 p.m.
Taking a minute to talk with supporters, former State Senator Leticia Van de Putte's husband Pete says he isn't worried about early vote numbers. He repeated the campaign's message that west side was out in force today to vote for his wife.
UPDATE 7:03 p.m.
53 percent of the early votes cast are for interim Mayor Ivy Taylor. According to Taylor's campaign, they were expecting a solid early vote turnout.
Van de Putte's campaign has gathered hundreds at their watch party location, indicative--they hope--of healthy day-of turnout to raise the former State Senator up from her 47 percent early vote count.
The race for city council's district 7 race remains close with incumbant Cris Medina leading by 800 votes, with a total of 4,500 and challenger Mari Aguirre-Rodriguez with 3,700.
6:45 p.m.
Polls close in 15 minutes in San Antonio, and the conclusion of two final races in San Antonio is expected. Interim Mayor Ivy Taylor and former State Senator Leticia Van de Putte have reached the last day in this special election cycle after a bruising series of debates, articles and face offs that have raised ethics questions on both campaigns.
The race for San Antonio's seventh district is also expected to conclude this evening. Council Member Cris Medina finished with nearly 20 percent more of the vote in the general election, but as the race has narrowed from five candidates to two, victory is not certain. Mari Aguirre-Rodriguez was Medina's interimm replacement last year when he was away at extended training with the National Guard.
Texas Public Radio's Shelley Kofler, Joey Palacios and David Martin Davies are at election watch parties throughout San Antonio. Tune in to KSTX 89.1FM in 20 minutes to hear the first of several live updates from the TPR newsroom.
We are all watching and waiting on the early vote numbers to be released.
