Mayor Melvin Carter Leading In First-Choice Early Returns

cbsoptanon.onScriptsReady(function(cmp){cmp.ot.targetingAllowed(function(a){if(a) AnvatoPlayer(“p1”).init({“mcp”:”cbs”,”width”:”100%”,”height”:”100%”,”video”:”6152669″,”autoplay”:false,”titleVisible”:false,”accessKey”:”5VD6Eyd6djewbCmNwBFnsJj17YAvGRwl”,”accessControl”:{“preview”:false},”pInstance”:”p1″,”plugins”:{“heartbeat”:{“account”:”cbslocal-global-unified”,”publisherId”:”cbslocal”,”jobId”:”sc_va”,”marketingCloudId”:”823BA0335567497F7F000101@AdobeOrg”,”trackingServer”:”cbsdigitalmedia.hb.omtrdc.net”,”customTrackingServer”:”cbsdigitalmedia.d1.sc.omtrdc.net”,”chapterTracking”:false,”version”:”1.5″,”customMetadata”:{“video”:{“cbs_market”:”minnesota.cbslocal.com”,”cbs_platform”:”desktop”}}},”comscore”:{“clientId”:”3000023″,”c3″:”Minnesota.cbslocal.com”},”dfp”:{“clientSide”:{“adTagUrl”:”http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?sz=2×2&iu=/4128/cbs.minn&ciu_szs&impl=s&gdfp_req=1&env=vp&output=xml_vast2&unviewed_position_start=1&url=[referrer_url]&description_url=[description_url]&correlator=[timestamp]”,”keyValues”:{“categories”:”[[CATEGORIES]]”,”program”:”[[PROGRAM_NAME]]”,”siteSection”:”video-default”}}},”moat”:{“clientSide”:{“partnerCode”:”cbslocalanvatovideo181732609431″}}},”token”:”default”,”expectPreroll”:true,”expectPrerollTimeout”:5});});});

ST. PAUL, Minn. (WCCO) — Incumbent St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter is currently leading in the early returns as he fights to continue holding the position for another four years.

With about 98% of precincts reporting as of 10 p.m., Carter leads with about 62% of the first-choice votes. The closest runner-up in first-choice votes is Dino Guerin with 13% and Paul Langenfeld with 9%.

Carter, who made history when he became the state capitol’s first Black mayor in 2017, is projected to win Tuesday’s election.

MORE: Full 2021 Election Results

In his first term, the Democrat raised St. Paul’s minimum wage to $15 an hour and established the People’s Prosperity Guaranteed Income Pilot, a program which gives 150 struggling families $500 a month for 18 months. He also helped launch CollegeBound St. Paul, which gives every child born in the city a $50 college savings account.

However, he also faced a heated debate over the city’s garbage collection and concerns about gun violence.

Carter was endorsed by Gov. Tim Walz. He faced challenges from seven candidates: Miki Frost, Dino Guerin, Bill Hosko, Dora Jones-Robinson, Paul Langenfeld, Abu Nayeem, and Scott Evans Wergin.

More On WCCO.com: