The race for Austin City Council Ward 1 cut down from three candidates to two Tuesday following primary results that put Malcolm McDonald in the lead.

“”I’m absolutely delighted with the result,” McDonald said. “I was wishing for a greater margin, but I guess you have to be happy with what you get.”

McDonald took 45 percent of the votes, followed closely by Michael Jordal at 38.2 percent. The two candidates will compete at the general election in November.

“I was pretty excited about it,” Jordal said. “I thought I probably had a little bit of an uphill battle, being younger and not being in the community as long.”

McDonald, too, took the age demographics of voters into account.

“I think that Jordal has probably the interest of the younger set among him,” he said. “Maybe I’ve got the older set.”

Going forward, McDonald said he plans to switch his campaign strategy up.

“I’ve got to rethink this thing and do a little more name recognition,” he said.

As for Jordal, the candidate plans to continue his efforts to reach every house in Ward 1, which he started after filing in June. He said his canvassing efforts should be easier on him now that July’s sweltering heat has come and gone.

“I haven’t hit every house yet, but I’m getting close,” he said.

Candidate Aaron Jones, who took 13.6 percent of the votes, has been eliminated from the race. Zeke Dahl dropped out earlier this month, but still received 3.1 percent. 573 votes were cast total.