Those wanting to know who will be the next Selma City Council President will have to wait six more weeks to find out.

After weeks of campaigning, ads, billboards, radio commercials and yard sign placement, the race that had seen four contestants has been cut in half.

Corey Bowie and Tremayne Gorden each earned a spot in the runoff by receiving the most votes in Tuesday’s municipal election.

Bowie came close to earning the position outright, but was only able to pull 46 percent of the vote, while Gorden came in second with 25 percent of the vote.

Gorden had to beat out Franklin Fortier Jr., who earned 23 percent of the vote, and Rufus Ford to earn the matchup with Bowie in the runoff.

“We fell good about making it to the runoff and having another few weeks to continue sharing our message with the voters,” Gorden said. “We are going to take a few days off though before getting going again.”

Bowie had hoped to avoid a runoff, but knew it would be difficult to do so with four candidates in the field, but did expect to be among the leaders.

“When you’re looking at it statistically, it was likely going to be a runoff,” Bowie said. “I did accomplish part of my goal by being in the runoff. Now, hopefully, in the coming weeks, through dedication, prayer and hard work, hopefully I’ll be victorious in this election.”

For Fortier, he was disappointed but felt good about what his campaign was able to accomplish.

“I feel like we accomplished the goals we set out to reach,” Fortier said. “We’re looking forward to continuing to work on our agenda and making sure it is sustained.”

Attempts to reach Ford was unsuccessful.

— Times-Journal staff writer Sarah Cook contributed to this report.