Tucson City Council incumbents Regina Romero, Paul Cunningham and Shirley Scott, all Democrats, saw a big lead in the initial election results posted just after 8 p.m. Tuesday.
"Early ballots look promising," Cunningham said. "We'll see how it goes."
Cunningham, a middle-school social studies teacher who has served on the council for five years, is seeking a second full term.
At an election-night party, Cunningham showed his phone to Scott and they shared a hug and a sigh of relief.
Scott, the longest-serving member of the city council, is seeking a sixth term, and Romero is seeking a third term.
"It's the end of a long campaign and I'm looking forward to the results and an early evening," Scott said at the party.
The results posted so far reflect only early mail-in ballots counted by the county elections department prior to election day.
The Republican slate for city council is Margaret Burkholder, Bill Hunt and Kelly Lawton.
Burkholder said she would consider running again if the city changes to ward-only elections "because I am very confident my ward supports me."
Hunt said, "It was a privilege to run. It was an honor to run for this office. Win, lose, or not — it's still an honor."
Lawton said, "There is always an opportunity to serve the city. I'll evaluate everything and we'll see where we end up. I'm optimistic about a lot of things," including the possibility of running again.
Jonathan Rothschild was elected to a second term as Tucson mayor. The Republicans did not field a candidate for mayor. Joshua Chesser, Paula Huff and Chuck Phillips ran as independent write-in candidates.
