In what turned out to not be much of a race, Mayor Michael Nutter won his second term as mayor of Philadelphia.
The race was called for Nutter about 45 minutes after polls closed at 8 p.m.
“Over the last four years you have honored me with the privilege of serving as mayor of my hometown,” said a victorious Nutter. “And tonight it is with great pride and humility that I say thank you to all of you for allowing me to continue the work that we’ve started and for reelecting me to serve a second term as the mayor of Philadelphia -- our great city.”
Nutter, a democrat, beat back challenges from Republican Karen Brown and Independent Wali "Diop" Rahman.
Nutter, a 54-year-old former city councilman, was the overwhelming favorite over little-known Karen Brown, 52, a former high school math teacher and Democrat who switched parties to challenge Nutter and barely survived a challenge in the May primary. Brown's low-budget campaign gained little traction with voters, with her advertising mainly centered on videos circulated on YouTube.
“The middle class and the working poor showed that they do have a voice in this city and they stood behind me… I’m sorry that we weren’t victorious,” Brown said in defeat.
With about 96 percent of precincts reporting Nutter commanded about 75 percent of the vote with Brown pulling in about 22 percent and Rahman standing around 4 percent.
Politics
The election was marked by low voter turnout despite nice sunny weather.
Nutter will get four more years in the City of Brotherly Love to continue his battle to lower the city's homicide rate and work on other initiatives.
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