In two major Texas cities, new mayors were elected in close runoff elections on Saturday night.
In McKinney, voters elected Bill Cox to succeed outgoing mayor George Fuller. Cox, a former city councilman, defeated former State Rep. Scott Sanford, winning 53 percent of the vote over Sanford’s 47 percent. Sanford was running as the conservative choice in the race and had secured endorsements from several leading conservative organizations, as well as the Dallas Morning News.
Meanwhile, in San Antonio, Gina Ortiz Jones won the runoff election to succeed Mayor Ron Nirenberg. Jones, a former Air Force undersecretary under Joe Biden, won 54 percent of the vote. Jones’ opponent, former Texas Secretary of State Rolando Pablos, won 46 percent of the vote. The race was marked by a bitter debate over the partisanship of the city and the future of the San Antonio Spurs franchise.