Speaking above chants of "four more years," Cieslewicz thanked supporters Tuesday night at Madison's Dining and Diversions.
Allen came in second, receiving 30 percent of the total vote. Peter Muñoz, executive director of the non-profit Centro Hispano, came in third with 10 percent, and was eliminated from the contest along with retired biochemist Will Sandstrom, who finished last with 2 percent.
"These are tremendously positive results for us," Cieslewicz said as he addressed the crowd, which throughout the night included Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk, Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, and state Rep. Spencer Black, D-Madison.
Across town at Kavanaugh's Esquire Restaurant, Allen also addressed his supporters and outlined his promises to improve the city.
"We will fight crime, we will clean your water, we will provide you with good basic services," Allen said. "It's a campaign about making Madison a place that is inclusive to all of us and for all of us."
Allen, who spoke at the University of Wisconsin's College Republicans meeting earlier Tuesday evening, said in an interview with The Badger Herald the next step in his campaign would be to reach out to those people who voted for Muñoz.
"I think, certainly, with a lot of the people that have endorsed Peter and are supporting Peter, they are friends of mine," Allen said. "We're going to reach out to them and talk with them, so I'm very optimistic going forward."
A contentious topic this election season has been whether Madison should explore the possibility of installing electric streetcars in the city.
Cieslewicz, who called for a formal study on the prospect of streetcars, addressed the fact that he has taken a lot of criticism recently for the idea.
"I just think my opponents underestimated the voters," Cieslewicz said in an interview with The Badger Herald. "They thought that this would be a one-issue campaign and clearly the voters were looking past that."
Muñoz, who held his primary-night party at the Brink Lounge on East Washington Avenue, said he would like to gather the support he received in the primary race and put it behind Allen.
"I think [Allen] will find solutions that will work for everybody," Muñoz said in an interview. "He will compromise, he will take care of the city's resources in a very responsible manner, and the way this city is burrowing, this city is headed for disaster."
Muñoz said he feels he would have been more successful in his mayoral bid had he decided to enter the race earlier — he entered only days before the registration deadline, leaving him a shorter amount of time to campaign than other candidates.
Cieslewicz and Allen will now advance to the general election April 3.
— Sam Brummitt and Peter Sielski contributed to this report.
