Community organizer Angela Clay won the North Side’s 46th Ward Tuesday night, with the Chicago Teachers Union-backed candidate poised to become the youngest member of the City Council.

She could take that title from Ald. Timmy Knudsen — who was clinging to a narrow lead in his bid extend his brief tenure in the affluent 43rd Ward, facing a strong showing from runoff challenger Brian Comer. 

That tight race unfolded alongside another in the 48th Ward, where organizer Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth led in her bid to become the city’s first Filipina alderperson — but by less than 100 votes over affordable housing developer Joe Dunne. 

With 91% of precincts reporting, Clay was carrying 55.3% of the vote compared to 44.7% for business executive Kim Walz, a former aide to U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley. She was backed by her former boss and other establishment Democrats, including Gov. J.B. Pritzker. 

Walz conceded less than two hours after the polls closed.

Almost 3,500 mail ballots were still outstanding. Clay’s margin was 1,468 votes. 

Replacing outgoing 46th Ward Ald. James Cappleman, Clay brings the total number of Council seats held by African Americans to 20, making up for the loss of the predominantly Black 34th Ward that was remapped last year and moved from the Far South Side to the Near West Side.

Clay, 31, who ran unsuccessfully in 2019, was backed by far-left progressive organizations as well as mayoral candidate Brandon Johnson. Most of her campaign funding has come from the CTU, the Illinois Nurses Association and the Service Employees International Union.

She helped start an alliance for education and racial justice at age 14, has served as president of a nonprofit housing organization and is on the local school council of Brennemann Elementary.

With 96% of precincts reporting In the 43rd Ward, Knudsen had 52% of the vote compared to 48% for Comer. 

Officials at the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners reported nearly 3,400 mail ballots could still make their way in from the ward spanning Lincoln Park, plus parts of Old Town and the Gold Coast. Knudsen and Comer were separated by about 500 votes an hour after the polls closed. 

Knudsen, 32, a former corporate attorney and director of the Chicago Zoning Board of Appeals, has held his post since last fall when he was appointed by outgoing Mayor Lori Lightfoot to replace retired Ald. Michele Smith. 

Knudsen’s connection to Lightfoot proved to be an electoral albatross in the affluent ward, where the one-term mayor finished a distant third behind Brandon Johnson and Paul Vallas. 

Knudsen only racked up about 27% in the first round of voting, forcing him into a runoff with Comer, the Sheffield Neighborhood Association President and independent consultant who surprised deeper-pocketed challengers to finish as runner-up with about 24% of the vote. 

Comer surprised other deeper-pocketed challengers to finish as runner-up in the first round of voting in February with about 24% of the vote. 

A few dozen Knudsen supporters filled plates from a buffet and drank from an open bar in Lincoln Park, continuously turned their eyes to a television tuned into election results, with some remaining anxious and others offering words of optimism. 

In the 48th Ward — which spans Andersonville, Edgewater and part of Uptown — Manaa-Hoppenworth had 50.2% of the vote compared to 49.8% for Dunne, with 94% of precincts reporting. 

They were separated by fewer than 70 votes, while election officials said there are still 2,944 outstanding mail ballots that could arrive to be counted by April 18. 

Dunne, 50, was backed in the race by outgoing 48th Ward Ald. Harry Osterman, while Manaa-Hoppenworth, 53, drew strong support from progressive groups farther to the left. 

Dunne led a field of 10 in the first round of voting, with 26%, compared to 23% for Manaa-Hoppenworth.