by David Chapman
Staff Writer
Republican Mike Hogan and Democrat Alvin Brown will square off in the May 17 general election to become the next mayor of Jacksonville.
With six candidates on the ballot in the first election Tuesday, Hogan led the way, garnering just over 34 percent of the vote with Brown receiving over 24 percent.
With all precincts reporting and 150,191 votes cast, Hogan received 51,509 to Brown’s 36,631.
Hogan jumped out to an early lead shortly after polls closed at 7 p.m., with much of the interest shifting to his potential runoff adversary.
Audrey Moran, who finished third with close to 22 percent of the vote, led Brown for about an hour while votes were tabulated, but Brown passed her just after 8 p.m. The two remained several hundred votes apart for some time before Brown pulled away to secure his second-place finish.
Challenger Rick Mullaney came in fourth with 16 percent of the vote.
Voter turnout was 29.25 percent, according to the Supervisor of Elections office.
356-2466