After a close first election round, Chicago Mayor Rham Emanuel did not manage to gather enough votes to prevent a run off.

Falling short of 50 percent of the vote, he will face Jesus "Chuy" Garcia in the second round of voting in a couple of months. If he wins, Gracia would be Chicago's first Latino mayor.

According to The New York Times, Garcia won 34 percent of the vote to Emanuel's 45 percent. The incumbent mayor still was well ahead of Garcia but, depsite outspending his opponent, fell short of the 50 percent threshold to avoid a runoff.

Garcia, Cook County commissioner and an immigrant born in Mexico, has gathered the support of the city's Latino community and is currently vying for more black support.

Meanwhile, Emanuel is doing the same. With the wealthy white neighborhoods behind him, Emanuel is trying to make amends with a black community that feels alienated after he closed various public schools.

Emanuel also clashed with the teachers' union in 2012, helping Garcia earn their support.

A day after the election, Garcia was back on the streets talking to voters. The Chicago Tribune reports Garcia appeared optimistic and said he hopes to succeed with the help of Chicagoans.

"We campaigned everywhere. I'm very proud of it. We received support from everywhere, and that's what I'll continue to do," he said. "This is a great time to bring the city together to unify it, to make everyone feel included. That's what I'm about. Chicago has 77 community areas, and I intend to campaign in every one of them."

In a post on his campaign website, Garcia celebrated the news of the run off election, strengthening his chances of becoming Chicago's new mayor. He also thanked everyone involved in his campaign.

"People like you braved the winter to knock on thousands of doors. People like you made phone calls and greeted commuters each morning to spread the word about this movement," the statement said. "People like you turned out to vote and forced this election into a head-to-head runoff with a Mayor backed by huge corporate interests and the national party establishment."

The candidate expressed a similar sentiment on Twitter, highlighting Emanuel's deep connections with Wall Street.

This win proves that a movement of people like you can beat a political machine backed by billion-dollar corporations. On to April 7th.

- Jesus Chuy Garcia (@garcia4chicago) February 25, 2015

Garcia referred to Emanuel's financial backing from wealthy financial entities. The incumbent mayor managed to raise around $15 million, according to Politico, to Garcia's $1 million. While most of Garcia's money came from the teachers' union, Emanuel's came from investors and other businessmen. In November, International Business Times reported that Emanuel received more than $500,000 from financial firms that handled the city's pensions, which the mayor oversees.

Following the news he did not avoid the run off, Emanuel's campaign simply thanked supporters on Twitter.

Thank you, Chicago. pic.twitter.com/gc7tAb0MbZ - Rahm Emanuel (@RahmEmanuel) February 25, 2015

The second round of voting will be on April 7.