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Election 2026District 1

District 1 runoff: Amber Goodwin and Misael Ramos finish 73 votes apart for East Austin's open seat

Neither candidate came close to a majority in the six-way race to replace term-limited Council Member Natasha Harper-Madison, according to unofficial results. The two meet again Dec. 12. Here is what the next District 1 member inherits.

By Austin Politics staffUpdated

East Austin's District 1 will pick its next council member in a Dec. 12 runoff between Amber Goodwin and Misael Ramos. In unofficial results updated at 7:56 a.m. Wednesday, each had just over 34% of the vote, with Goodwin ahead by 73 votes, Community Impact reported. Michael Nahas finished more than 10 points behind them.

The order flipped overnight. When early-voting totals came out Tuesday night, Goodwin had nearly 36% and Ramos just over 35%, and Nahas had about 25%, Community Impact reported. KUT, in a story updated at 12:54 a.m., described the two leaders as each holding about a third of the early vote.

These results are unofficial until the council canvasses them. A candidate needs a majority of votes cast to win outright, so the top two advance.

Why it matters

District 1 has had the same council member since 2019. Natasha Harper-Madison is term-limited. The district runs east of I-35 between Seventh Street and Dean Keeton Street and reaches north and east past Lake Walter E. Long, KUT reported. More Black Austinites live there than in any other district, and it was drawn as an African American opportunity district. Candidates told KUT the top issues were displacement, cost of living, public safety, transportation and the environment.

The two candidates

According to KUT and the Austin Chronicle:

  • Amber Goodwin is a former Travis County assistant district attorney who chaired the city's Task Force on Gun Violence. She supports homestead exemptions and community land trusts and wants a community health hub. The Chronicle reported she led the field in Oct. 5 campaign finance filings.
  • Misael Ramos ran against Harper-Madison in 2022 and has led the Blackland Community Development Corporation board. He has called the council's housing approach "market driven" and wants more deeply affordable housing.

Our campaign finance pages cover sitting council members only, so they do not include either candidate.

What our records show about the seat

The outgoing member's attendance. Our District 1 page counts 2,374 roll calls for Harper-Madison. She was absent for 330 of them, an attendance rate of 86.1%, the second-lowest on the council. On divided votes she sided with the majority 91% of the time.

Her no votes. She voted no six times in our records. They include a 2025 extension of the license plate reader pilot, which passed 8-3, and two rezonings in her district, at 2406 Rosewood Ave. and 1169 Hargrave St., each approved 7-2 in October 2025.

What she started that the next member will carry. Her 2026 resolution on home businesses began code changes to allow accessory commercial units and front-yard businesses. In September the council approved her resolution creating an advisory board for the Millennium Youth Entertainment Complex.

District items still moving. The Nov. 5 agenda includes buying 2.4 acres of right of way on Johnny Morris Road for a 2020 bond street project, floodplain variances for two homes on Fort Branch Boulevard and a $1 million transit lane at Dean Keeton Street and I-35, on the District 1 and 9 line.

A new library branch in the district. The library bond voters approved Tuesday includes money for a new branch in Colony Park, in District 1. The $15 million for Colony Park was added on Aug. 4 by an amendment that raised the library proposition to $35 million. Our bond story has the rest.

A close count to watch

A 73-vote gap can move. Mail ballots that arrive by Nov. 4 and provisional ballots that are approved will still be added before the canvass. Because both candidates advance either way, any shift would change only who finishes first, not who is in the runoff. In 2018, the first round of the District 1 race was also separated by a hair: Community Impact reported a one-vote gap between the top two that election night.

What's next

  • Mid-November: The council canvasses the results. Last year's canvass was Nov. 17.
  • Dec. 12: Runoff. Early voting dates and polling places will be posted at votetravis.gov.
  • January: Harper-Madison's term ends, and the new member joins the council. The draft 2027 calendar lists the first regular meeting on Jan. 6.

Our pre-election guide to the District 1 race profiles all six candidates.