Colvin faced Mayor Pro-Tem Kathy Keefe Jensen and won with about 60% of the vote.
"I give all credit to God where it was deserved, but I thank the people of Fayetteville, and what it says is that, you know, over the last several months, we made a strong case that, you know, stable and proven leadership is important in times like this, and so the fact that so many people participated in the process of voting, I'm encouraged by that," Colvin said.
Colvin filed for reelection in July after announcing he wouldn't run again.
"This is a community that I love. I was born and raised here, and I had made a decision what was best for me at the time of what I thought, that it was time to step away, but I know that our community, you know, needed stable continuity in its leadership, and I wouldn't have forgiven myself if that transition didn't take place, and so I wanted to play my part," Colvin said. "So, I wanted to leave this on the decision of the voters. Tonight, they spoke loud and clear, and I'm here for it; 100% for the next two years."
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Colvin is the longest-serving Black mayor of the city after first taking mayoral office in 2017.
"While tonight's result is not what we hoped for, I am deeply proud of the campaign we ran together," Keefe Jensen said in a statement. "We built this race on integrity, trust, and experience - and I'm grateful for everyone who shared that vision for Fayetteville's future. I extend my sincere respect to Mayor Colvin for his continued service and leadership, and I look forward to working together for the good of our city. I love Fayetteville and will continue to serve our community in new and exciting ways going forward."
Colvin also talked about his priorities for the next two years.
"I talked a lot about collaboration and how working with our partners, with the school board, the county, and the universities and community colleges in the hospital is very important," he said. "So, we'll continue to do that to make plans for our community as a whole. You know, infrastructure is important and housing is important. Our education system, even though the city doesn't have a direct role in the governance of that, but it speaks to the quality of a community, and so I look forward to working with our community partners in the future."
All nine city council seats were also up for grabs Tuesday, as well as eight other mayoral races in Cumberland County.
ABC11 visited several polling places, which didn't seem too busy before polls closed at 7:30 p.m. Still, those who came out said it was important to do so.
"It's your right. Good people died to get you that right," said voter Charles Eggleston. "And you should do it because in the end, you'll sit around and complain. What you would want done was not done. But if you can put your voice and speak for the people that would do the good job that you want done, then you have no reason to complain."