Updated 11:15 p.m. CST

Republican Mike VanDeWalle and Democrat Celia Israel will face off in a runoff election to fill the vacant House District 50 seat.

Neither candidate garnered the required 50 percent of the vote to win the Nov. 5 special election. VanDeWalle took the lead with about 39 percent of votes with Israel behind him with about 32 percent of the votes, according to preliminary unofficial results. Results are unofficial until canvassed.

VanDeWalle said he was prepared to head into a runoff election because he was facing three Democrats.

"I have a good team and I think we developed a good strategy, and I think we can win," he said.

Israel said she plans to revisit with voters who supported the two other Democratic candidates to try and get their support in the runoff. She said it helped that she started her campaign early.

"We felt strong that our campaign had the edge," she said.

Democrat Jade Chang Sheppard, who was behind Israel with almost 16 percent of the votes, said she felt like she ran a great campaign.

"As long as a Democrat wins, I'll support it," she said.

Democrat Rico Reyes, who garnered about 13 percent of the votes, said he also had a great campaign and a great team. As a Pflugerville resident, he said he felt that his community had greatly supported him.

"Tonight wasn't our night, but at the end of the day, sometimes you get the chicken and sometimes you get the feathers. We got the feathers tonight," he said. "It's only the first step, and I'm looking forward to the next time we have an opportunity to make a difference in this community."

Posted 7:28 p.m. CST

Unofficial early voting results indicate Republican Mike VanDeWalle is leading the pack of four candidates vying to fill the vacant state House of Representatives District 50 seat in the Nov. 5 special election.

Early voting results show that VanDeWalle has 2,703 votes, or 39.80 percent. Democrat Celia Israel has 2,148 votes, or 31.63 percent.

The other two Democrats in the race are Jade Chang Sheppard with 1,083 votes, or 15.94 percent, and Rico Reyes with 856 votes or 12.60 percent. Votes are unofficial until canvassed.

District 50 spans portions of North Austin, Pflugerville, Manor, Elgin and Webberville in Travis County. Former state Rep. Mark Strama vacated the seat in July to head up Google Fiber in Austin. The winning candidate will serve the remainder of Strama's term, which runs through the end of 2014.

Candidates will have another chance to vie for the District 50 seat March 4 when the primary election occurs for the subsequent two-year term.