In a field of six mayoral candidates, it was unlikely the next Jefferson City mayor would gain a large majority of voter support.
But the race turned out to not be as close as many thought it would.
Former Ward 4 Councilwoman Carrie Tergin won Tuesday's race with about 41 percent of the vote, or 2,872 votes. In winning the election, Tergin won in every precinct in the city except two.
In Ward 1, precinct 4, Ward 3 Councilman Bob Scrivner took the majority, with 169 votes versus Tergin's 137. And in Ward 4, precinct 4, he received 186 votes to Tergin's 163.
Those two precincts also attracted a large voter turnout compared to other city precincts. Ward 1, precinct 4 had the most ballots cast of any city precincts, with a total of 488 ballots cast. And Ward 4, precinct 4 had the highest percentage of voter turnout, with 33.77 percent of voters in that precinct casting a ballot.
Current Mayor Eric Struemph joined those wishing Tergin well after her win, even though she had not received his endorsement. Prior to the election, Struemph had endorsed Scrivner and Edith Vogel to take over for him on April 20.
On Wednesday morning, Struemph had posted on Facebook that he already had reached out to Tergin to congratulate her on the win and arrange a meeting to discuss city issues as Jefferson City transitions to a new mayor.
"I look forward to meeting with her next week during this transitional stage," Struemph posted. "I think it is important as a community that we all come together and support Carrie and her visions."
And Tergin already is being sought after by different groups who want to meet with the new mayor. Tergin said on Wednesday morning that she had too many Facebook messages to keep up with, including one from Jefferson City's sister city in Germany, where a woman reached out to see if the new mayor would answer some questions.
"They know how to reach me and I welcome that," Tergin said. "That's what I'm about, that's why I'm mayor."
Tergin's win comes one year after losing her Ward 4 council seat. In 2014, Tergin lost her re-election campaign to current Ward 4 Councilman Glen Costales. When asked what changed between her two campaigns, Tergin said it really came down to her own drive. Though she said she truly wanted to retain her seat, Tergin said she felt frustrated with how some issues were being handled and the drive she normally had wasn't there.
"My heart wasn't in it at that time," Tergin said.
Tergin said she felt there were people and groups who were not being listened to by the council and leadership, and it was then, she said, she began to think she could be more effective in a different role.
"I felt very clearly that I know what needs to happen in order for Jefferson City to become a better community and more successful for all of the citizens," Tergin said. "I showed the citizens what kind of leader I was going to be and what vision I have for the city."