Kasim Reed Concedes 2 Days After Atlanta Mayoral Election

Atlanta GA

04 November, 2021

6:34 PM

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ATLANTA, GA — Two days after Atlanta voters went to the polls, former mayor Kasim Reed has conceded that he lost his bid for the job and will not be part of a runoff race for the position. Felicia Moore and Andre Dickens will face off for a Nov. 30 runoff to elect the next mayor of Atlanta. The seats they each occupy now — Moore as City Council president and Dickens as a council at-large Post 3 member — also will be decided by runoff contests at the end of the month. Reed finished in third place among mayoral candidates, less than 500 votes behind Dickens. On Thursday afternoon, Reed posted his concession on social media. He said he entered the race to restore safety in every neighborhood across the city. "Like many others, I witnessed the tapestry of diverse communities that make up our city be torn apart by surging levels of violent crime. I ran to ensure that our city could restore its reputation as the economic and cultural engine of the Southeast, where opportunity thrives and everyone has a shot at realizing their dreams. A city where every voice is heard and where everyone feels safe, no matter their zip code." Reed thanked his campaign workers, volunteers and supporters. "I also want to congratulate both Council President Felicia Moore and Council Member Andre Dickens," Reed said. "As the race moves forward in a run-off, I will continue to work on behalf of the city that I love to ensure that we remain that shining city on a hill." Related: Moore To Meet Dickens In Runoff After Close 2nd-Place Finish With all 180 Fulton County precincts reporting and 13 of 13 precincts weighing in from DeKalb County early Wednesday morning, Moore was the clear favorite with 38,845 votes, according to unofficial results from both counties. Eyeing a chance to go head-on with Moore, Dickens made the media rounds before dawn early Wednesday to get a jump on the next leg of the election cycle. "We've got 27 days," he told Patch, eschewing any speculation about who Moore would face in the runoff. Dickens was able to hold off Reed for second place with 21,918 votes, a razor-thin advantage, over Reed's 21,440, the unofficial results show. That's just 478 votes. But because no candidate in the mayor's race (or the city council president and at-large Post 3 contests) reached the state-mandated threshold of 50 percent plus one vote, a runoff election will be held on Nov. 30 with the polls opening for voters to choose between the top two candidates in each race. In the bid to lead the City Council, Doug Shipman and long-standing Councilmember Natalyn Archibong emerged as the top candidates. Shipman led with 27,404 votes to 24,849 votes for Archibong, who edged out Courtney English trailing with 22,249 votes. For the at-large Post 3 seat, Keisha Sean Waites and Jacki Labat will meet again later this month. The two were separated by roughly 4 percentage points at the top of the five-candidate race. Labat trailed Waites 19,753 to 23,467 with all precincts reporting unofficially.