PORTLAND, Ore. (KATU) — Keith Wilson, the CEO of a trucking company, maintained a solid lead Wednesday in preliminary voting results in the race for Portland mayor, according to the second release of unofficial results by Multnomah County, making him Portland’s next mayor.

Not long after those numbers were announced, his opponents, city commissioners Carmen Rubio, Rene Gonzalez and Mingus Mapps, congratulated him as the next mayor of the Rose City.

After 19 rounds of tabulation, Wilson led 62%, while Rubio had 38%.

The results for Wilson and Rubio had not changed substantially since Multnomah County released the first set of results on Tuesday. After 19 rounds, Wilson had 63%, while Rubio had 37%.

Wilson told KATU News by phone Wednesday that he had received congratulations from Rubio, Gonzalez and Mapps.

In a statement, he thanked his opponents in the race and said he will approach the task with “humility and lead by our shared values.”

“Voters in every corner of our city have made their voices heard: they want change and want local leadership to work together to solve the issues facing our community,” he said.

Wilson will hold a press conference Thursday afternoon to deliver his acceptance speech.

In a statement, Rubio said she called Wilson to congratulate him and wish him luck.

“My hope for him is that he enters City Hall with a desire to listen and learn from those who have worked hard to get Portland back on its feet,” she said. “We have made progress in recent years and we must continue to move forward. We don’t have another minute or dollar to waste when it comes to ending homelessness, creating a safe and inclusive city, supporting our small businesses, or tackling the other big challenges we face.”

Gonzalez, who was eliminated from the voting rolls in Round 18 on both Tuesday and Wednesday, also said he called Wilson.

“It’s time for all Portlanders to rally behind him as we work to make Portland everything we want it to be and a city we can be proud of again,” Gonzalez said on X.

Current Mayor Ted Wheeler posted his congratulations on X.

“Portland’s future is bright and I am committed to supporting you as you transition into your role as leader of this incredible organization. I can’t wait to roll up our sleeves with the newly elected City Council,” he said.

Wheeler did not seek re-election this year.

In a single-winner choice contest like this race, tabulation rounds are held where the candidates with the fewest votes are eliminated. Votes from eliminated candidates are transferred to the voter’s next preference. Rounds continue until one candidate receives 50% +1.

You can see how votes were transferred and how candidates were eliminated by visiting Multnomah County election results page for ranked choice voting.

Nearly two dozen people ran for mayor this year, and for the first time, Portland voters were able to rank their top six candidates based on their preference.

After the first set of results were released Tuesday evening, showing Wilson in the lead, the newcomer to politics embraced ranked-choice voting.

“When you think about ranked choice voting, it really wants us to embrace each other, to not talk about the negative of the campaign, but to focus on your message and what you’re going to do for Portland, which is your plan, and I think we’ll be “I passed ranked choice voting the first time,” Wilson told his supporters at his campaign event.

All votes must be counted before a winner can be declared in an electoral race, but it appeared Rubio, Gonzalez and Mapps felt they had no clear path to victory.

Multnomah County said it will release more counted votes Thursday at 6 p.m

County data showed record high voter turnout on Election Day. More than 130,000 people voted on Tuesday. The previous record was 110,000 six years ago.

Election officials expect that by the time all ballots are counted, a total of 75% of people will have voted.