Adler has 38.06 percent of the vote or 43,616 total votes while Martinez has 29.52 percent of the vote or 33,831 total votes, according to election day results from Travis County. There have only been 114,590 votes counted so far of the 132,921 votes cast during the election.

"It is way early tonightwe had a historic number of voters show up today in this historic election for Austin," Martinez said. "The voters have spoken clearlyand we know that we are in this to win it. We are in it to win it."

Martinez thanked his supporters and said he's pleased with the results so far.

With Adler currently in the lead of the votes that have been counted, he said he's excited about seeing Austinites vote for his "new way forward" approach.

"I think the voters, the citizens of Austin, have indicated that they want change. They don't want the status quo and I think that's really exciting, it's what the city needs," Adler said.

Updated 8:30 p.m. CST

Mayor Pro Tem Sheryl Cole has acknowledged that the early voting numbers are not in her favor and it's unlikely she will have a spot in the runoff election that seems imminent for the position of Austin mayor.

"I'm disappointed that I'm not going to be in the runoff but I'm thrilled for Mike [Martinez] and Steve [Adler] that they'll go on. This is a city that's very engaged and we must continue to be engaged," Cole said at her watch party that took place at Clive Bar.

Cole is likely to remain an active voice in Austin, but she hasn't determined how just yet, she said.

Councilman Mike Martinez said the race is still super close, but he's confident he'll be standing at the end. He told TV reporters at his campaign watch party located at Rattle Inn that he's looking forward to the likely runoff election.

Posted 7:15 p.m.

Austin mayoral candidate Steve Adler leads an eight-person field with 38.53 percent of the vote, or 36,107 votes, according to early voting results.

Any candidate who receives more than 50 percent of the votes will win the election. Otherwise the race will proceed to a Dec. 16 runoff election between the two leading candidates.

Five of the eight candidates consistently participated in mayoral forums as election season progressed. Two current City Council members are among those five, along with three newcomers.

Adler and Councilman Mike Martinez, who has 29.62 percent of the votes, or 27,756 votes, have been at odds at mayoral forums and through campaign ads for most of the race. Adler said he wants to create "a new way forward" for the next council, and Martinez said that the council will be made up of so many new members that an experienced leader is the best one to guide them.

Mayor Pro Tem Sheryl Cole, who is in third place with 14.73 percent of the votes, or 13,808 votes, has put a heavy emphasis on education efforts and keeping Austin affordable during forums and her years on City Council.

Todd Phelps, a local country singer who has 8.97 percent of the votes, or 8,404 votes, said he ran for mayor after his friends encouraged him to steer the city in a different way. One of his main stances during mayoral forums was encouraging residents to vote against the city's $1 billion rail bond so that taxes will not increase for Austinites.

Randall Stephens, who has 1.78 percent of the votes, or 1,665 votes, has touted his experience in military service and as a businessman as the guide for how he will be able to bring the new council together and work as a team. He said his plan for Austin includes creating more development along the outer rim of the city and lessening the emphasis on living in the downtown core.

David Orshalick, Ron Culver and Mary Krenek are also running for the position. Orshalick has experience in the business and tech industry and wants to stop the support of growth in Austin. Culver is a retired electrical engineer who wants to end favoritism to the business class. Little is known about Krenek's stance on issues. She is described as an investor and activist.

After the new City Council is established, the mayor can serve three three-year terms while five council members will be randomly selected to serve initial two-year terms and five will serve initial four-year terms. The initial terms allow future council elections to be held every two years. Future council terms will last four years.