Taliaferro, who had sought reelection, took 33 percent of the vote in northeast Raleigh's District B on Tuesday.

Koopman, an engineering consultant and Air Force veteran, won 44 percent. A third candidate, Angel Menendez, grabbed 22 percent.

Taliaferro said earlier this week that she planned to call for a runoff. A candidate needs 50 percent of the vote to win outright.

Today, Taliaferro said she had changed her mind. She said it's the best decision for Raleigh, which now won't have to go through a costly runoff election, and her family.

"I will finish serving my term through December, and then I'm going to regroup and decide what I'm going to do next," she said. "There are a lot of opportunities."

Koopman called Taliaferro's decision "courageous."

"That's the toughest call you have to make as a politician," Koopman said. "The fact that she has protected the taxpayers from having to go through another election and to have saved her family and my family of all the mudslinging — I am extremely grateful for Jessie for having done that. That's a courageous step for her to take."