Felicia Moore, Andre Dickens Will Compete for Atlanta Mayor; Kasim Reed Falls Short

ATLANTA — The mayoral predetermination successful Atlanta produced a astonishment result, arsenic Kasim Reed, a erstwhile two-term politician erstwhile considered a front-runner successful the race, failed to decorativeness successful either archetypal oregon 2nd place, denying him the accidental to vie successful the Nov. 30 runoff and ending his astonishing governmental comeback bid.

Felicia Moore, the City Council president, finished archetypal successful the contention with astir 41 percent of the vote, followed by Andre Dickens, a metropolis councilman, who narrowly bested Mr. Reed.

Mr. Dickens received 23 percent of the vote, and Mr. Reed received astir 22 percent. The contention for 2nd spot was truthful adjacent that a last telephone was not made until Thursday.

Both Ms. Moore and Mr. Dickens had attacked Mr. Reed for the bid of corruption scandals that unfolded connected his ticker astatine City Hall, resulting successful galore indictments and blameworthy pleas from high-ranking metropolis officials.

Mr. Reed led a crowded tract of contestants successful aboriginal polling with a connection heavy focused connected a committedness to hole the city’s convulsive transgression problems. But the corruption concerns appeared to person dragged him down, adjacent arsenic helium reminded voters that helium had ne'er been charged oregon indicted aft a lengthy national probe of his administration.

Like Mr. Reed, some Ms. Moore, 60, and Mr. Dickens, 47, person promised to get a grip connected convulsive crime. Both candidates person besides focused connected affordable housing, an progressively blistery taxable successful a rapidly gentrifying city.

Because truthful overmuch of the contention starring up to Tuesday’s ballot was focused connected Mr. Reed and questions astir his fittingness for office, it is unclear however Ms. Moore and Mr. Dickens volition question to differentiate themselves successful the runoff phase, and which lines of onslaught they mightiness effort against each other.

On Tuesday night, aft The Associated Press had projected that Ms. Moore would beforehand to the runoff, she hugged and shook hands with supporters and volunteers arsenic “I Gotta Feeling” by the Black Eyed Peas played.

Takeaways From the 2021 Elections

Ms. Moore said the predetermination was astir “a caller Atlanta — an Atlanta wherever everyone’s going to feels safe. An Atlanta wherever erstwhile you walk your wealth for your taxes and your services, you’re going to get them.”

In a late-night code to supporters, Mr. Dickens, too, declared victory. “You chose a way to the aboriginal tonight,” helium said. “The radical decided that it was clip to prevention the psyche of our city, and to determination this run guardant into the runoff.”

Mr. Dickens, who joined the City Council successful 2013, is simply a merchandise of Atlanta’s nationalist schoolhouse strategy who earned an engineering grade from Georgia Tech. In caller years helium has focused connected ways to assistance disadvantaged radical find jobs successful the city’s burgeoning exertion sector.

Ms. Moore has served connected the City Council for much than 2 decades, winning predetermination aft serving arsenic caput of her vicinity association. During the existent campaign, she has emphasized good-government reforms she championed astatine metropolis hall, wherever she was an outspoken critic of perceived excesses successful the Reed administration.

Both Mr. Dickens and Ms. Moore are Black. Their advancement into the runoff ensures that the city’s streak of electing African American mayors, which stretches backmost to 1973, volition beryllium unbroken, contempt a important influx of achromatic residents successful caller years.

Tariro Mzezewa contributed reporting.