While the Nov. 2009 elections produced some disappointing results for Democrats, some high-profile African Americans surprised the pundits and, in one case, made history.

In Houston, former city attorney Gene Locke managed an upset of sorts by gaining a coveted spot in the Dec. 12 runoff election for Houston mayor. Locke, an African American, will face Houston City Controller Annise Parker, who is openly gay. Many gay groups and organizations are supporting Parker in hopes that her campaign might further break down discrimination and barriers. Parker had 31 percent of the vote, followed by Locke at 26 percent.

“My life has been an uphill battle. I kind of like where I am now,” Locke told campaign supporters.  “I’m on my home turf, coming from behind and pulling ahead.”

Finishing third was Councilman Peter Brown, a European American whom Locke recently accused of trying to buy votes in the African-American community. Locke took note of donations to African-American churches by Brown, a frontrunner who used $3.2 million of his family’s money in the race.  Pundits, however, say a late surge by a conservative Hispanic candidate, Roy Morales, siphoned away key white votes from Brown,

William C. Thompson Jr.

In New York City, William C. Thompson Jr. nearly upset two-term Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, shocking both the Democrats and the pundits, some of whom had Bloomberg winning by double digits. Bloomberg had 51 percent of the vote while Thompson captured 46 percent of the ballots, according to the unofficial results. Four years ago, Bloomberg won by a 20-point margin.

Exit polling by media found that many voters were angry with Bloomberg over his role in undoing the city’s term limits law and his campaign spending. According to The New York Times, the billionaire mayor had poured $90 million of his own fortune into the race, which gave him a 14-to-1 advantage in campaign spending.

Sen. Kasim Reed

In Atlanta, Councilwoman Mary Norwood, who is European American, and former state Sen. Kasim Reed, an African American, will meet in a mayoral runoff in that city Dec. 1. Norwood was unable to capture 50 percent of the vote, and avoid the runoff as some pundits expected her to do.

Norwood led the race with approximately 45 percent of the vote, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution.  Reed had 37 percent, and City Council President Lisa Borders, another African American, finished with 14 percent of the vote in the eight-way race. Both candidates will by vying for the support of Borders. Atlanta voters have elected African-American mayors since 1973. Racial tensions surfaced briefly in the campaign after two Clark University professors circulated a memo in the African-American community urging voters to unite behind one African-American candidate.

In two other races of note, Seth Williams won a historic victory as Philadelphia’s district attorney. He is the first African American to be elected a district attorney in Pennsylvania. Fewer than 40 of the 2,000 elected prosecutors in America are African American or Latino, according to some experts. Williams campaigned on a pledge to decentralize the DA’s office by assigning prosecutors to neighborhood police districts, divert minor offenders into community-based drug and alcohol treatment programs, and provide “better care and support” for victims and witnesses.

In Detroit, former National Basketball Association star, Dave Bing, captured 58 percent of the vote to win a full term as mayor of Detroit, turning back a challenge from Tom Barrow, an accountant.