Councillor Bill Linehan watched as numbers came in on election night at Slainte bar in South Boston.

Former Boston principal Suzanne Lee topped the ticket in District 2 on Tuesday, coming in 272 votes ahead of incumbent City Councillor Bill Linehan and setting up a battle between the two in the final election in November.

In District 7, Tito Jackson and Fenway’s Sheneal Parker were tapped for the final election run just six months after Jackson earned the seat in a special election following the conviction of former Councillor Chuck Turner.

MORE: Video from election night in District 2

Lee, who once served as principal at the Josiah Quincy School in Chinatown, received 2,606 votes, or 39.12 percent of the vote in District 2, which includes South Boston, Chinatown, Bay Village, the South End, and parts of Dorchester, including St. Margaret’s and the Polish Triangle. Linehan, who had won the seat in a special election in 2007, garnered 2,334 votes, or 35 percent of the full tally. South Boston resident Bob Ferrara came in third place with 1,689 votes, or 25.35 percent.

“We’re in the final just like we were in the final before,” Linehan said, referring to the special run held to replace the late City Councillor James Kelly in 2007. “We came in second just like we did before, and we won handily, and we’ll do that just like we did before.”

Linehan told supporters gathered at Slainte in South Boston that he is “not only enthusiastic, but absolutely convinced” that he will retain his seat on the 13-member Council.

Despite coming out on top Tuesday, Lee said she “absolutely” still considers herself the underdog in District 2. “It’s always uphill against an incumbent, because they have more resources, more name recognition, and I’m only just scratching the surface,” Lee said.

Lee campaign manager Cayce McCabe said her victory was because of person-to-person contact and door-knocking since the campaign started in January. McCabe noted that Lee supporters have knocked on 13,000 doors throughout District 2, with Lee herself visiting about 4,000.

“It’s always a surprise, but I’ve been knocking on doors. I’ve been talking to voters. I know that my message, people are starting to hear it,” Lee said.

When asked how the campaign’s strategy may change going into the general election, McCabe said Lee will continue “to keep the focus on the whole district.”

According to a supporter at Lee’s campaign celebration at the Red Fez in the South End, third-place finisher Ferrara stopped by after the results came in.

Voters in the two precincts of Dorchester within District 2 came out heavily for Linehan. “I feel good about that, those two precincts,” Linehan told the Reporter Tuesday night.

Lee said she did not perform well in those neighborhoods because she is a newcomer in those areas.

“I’m new to people in Dorchester and South Boston and that’s what [the results] reflect,” she said.

The results in Roxbury-based District 7 echoed the special election earlier this year. Jackson received 76 percent of the vote, or 1,875 votes out of the 2,467 cast.

Parker, a former teacher, picked up 274 votes, pretty much mirroring the ratio Jackson challenger Cornell Mills received in the February preliminary for the special election.

Perennial candidates Althea Garrison, a former state representative, and Roy Owens received 216 votes and 85 votes, respectively.

The final election in both districts is set for Nov. 8.