Atlanta mayoral runoff: Bottoms claims victory; Norwood seeks recount

SEE THE ELECTION RESULTS: Vote totals for Atlanta mayoral election, Fulton County Commission chairman, metro Atlanta mayoral elections and other runoff elections.

12:31 a.m.: Norwood just canceled all appearances for tomorrow to wait for the recount. Bottoms said she finished her day campaigning with stops at the Piccadilly at Greenbriar Mall, a stop at the Kroger store on Ralph David Abernathy Boulevard and Ralph Bunche Middle School, which she attended as a child.

She said teachers there “believed in me and believed that we were better than our circumstances.”

12:23 a.m.: Bottoms just now: "This is about Atlanta. And what we said from Day One is that this is about what we hope this city can be for our children’s children.” Bottoms praised her supporters for standing with her when the odds were against her campaign. "We stand tonight as one Atlanta.”

“I stand here tonight as my daddy’s daughter and I can say dreams do come true,” Bottoms said. “For those who did not support me, I look forward to working with you as well, because this is still a city for all of us.”

12:19 p.m.: Keisha Lance Bottoms is speaking to her supporters, offering thanks.

12:17 p.m.: Mary Norwood is not calling the race. She says she's waiting for absentee ballots from the military and provisional ballots that won't be tabulated until Thursday. Norwood is asking for a recount.

“We just don’t know,” she said early Wednesday as returns showed her trailing Bottoms by about 700 votes. “This is very close. It is not over yet.”

“I’ve done this before. The next few days are going to be all-hands-on-deck, and all analysis will be done,” she said. “We are two days away from knowing.”

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed announced Keisha Lance Bottoms as his successor and the 60th Mayor of the City of Atlanta.

11:42 p.m.: Chants of "Mary, Mary" erupt as latest returns show a 50-50 race, with her down by about 800 votes. Not sure if this means she's speaking soon.

11:29 p.m.: What had been a rather subdued crowd at the Bottoms party is buzzing now.

11:17 p.m.: As a surge of reported votes put Bottoms in a narrow lead in the race, Democratic Party of Georgia chief Dubose Porter, rallied the crowd. He said Bottoms “stands firm for our values and I stand firm with her.”

“Beyond being the most qualified person in the race, she, Keisha, is the standard bearer to preserve the great legacy of this city,” Porter said. “She understands Atlanta because she is Atlanta. Atlanta is a democratic city and Keisha Lance Bottoms is a fine Democrat. Which is more than I can say about her opponent.”

11:11 p.m.: Huge eruption of cheers with new results shown on Channel 2 of Bottoms leading

10:50 p.m.: Folks here getting a little more optimistic, FWIW, as returns show Norwood with ginormous lead in northside.http://video.ajc.com?ndn.trackingGroup=12699&ndn.siteSection=12699_pp&ndn.videoId=33328331