Tuesday, “socialist” candidate Francis Akridge beat out longtime public servant Dr. Mary Jane Caylor in the runoff election for Huntsville City Council District Two.

With all precincts reporting, Akridge had 3,364 votes (59.38 percent) to Caylor’s 2,301 votes (40.62 percent).

During the campaign, Caylor produced multiple digital and print ads pointing out Akridge’s ties to far-left politics and policies.

In a Halloween themed post circulating on social media, Caylor’s campaign invoked her opponent’s ties to socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT). The tagline read, “[F]ew things are scarier than socialism… Especially in our local government.”

Besides a long list of national liberal candidates that Akridge has supported, Caylor wanted voters to realize that Huntsville would be hurt by socialist city council policies on the local level.

“Imagine how much of your money Frances Akridge will want to tax and spend… We cannot afford to let Frances Akridge traffic in her big-government values to our City Hall,” the social media caption said.

The post continued, “Huntsville’s bright future demands fiscal responsibility and a budget that is overseen by an experienced, conservative leader. We need the conservative, proven, and principled leadership of Dr. Mary Jane Caylor.”

While the race was framed as a choice between “Socialist Frances Akridge or Conservative Mary Jane Caylor,” locals in Huntsville seemed to have embraced Akridge’s views.

When asked by WHNT what Tuesday’s results meant, Akridge declared a mandate.

“What it says about my candidacy is that indeed I already represent the needs, desires, and priorities of the district,” she said.

Sean Ross is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn