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A look the May 2 mayoral election in Texas and an update on mayoral partisanship in the 100 most populous cities

By

Lara Bonatesta

Three of the 100 most populous cities – all in Texas – are holding mayoral elections on Saturday, May 2. Those elections are taking place in Arlington, Irving, and Lubbock. Other than the Feb. 10 election for mayor of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, these are the first top-100 mayoral elections taking place this year.  

Here’s a brief look at each race:

Arlington

Incumbent Jim Ross, Steve Cavender, Hunter Crow, and Shaun Mallory are running in the nonpartisan general election. Ross and Cavender led in endorsements and local media attention.

  • Ross was first elected in 2021 and is an attorney, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, and a former member of the Arlington Police Department. The Arlington Professional Firefighters Association and the Arlington Police Association endorsed Ross.
  • Cavender is a real estate developer, president of the River Legacy Foundation, and a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve and the U.S. Army Reserve. Former mayors Jeff Williams and Richard Greene endorsed Cavender.

In August 2025, a representative from Ross' office sent a statement to Ballotpedia saying that he was an independent. On March 31, a representative from Cavendar’s campaign told Ballotpedia that he is nonpartisan.

Crow completed Ballotpedia’s Candidate Connection survey. Click here to see the response.

Irving

Olivia Novelo Abreu, Zhanae Jackson, and Albert Zapanta are running in the nonpartisan general election. Incumbent Rick Stopfer, who was first elected in 2017, is term-limited.

  • Abreu is an accountant and an educator. Abreu confirmed to Ballotpedia on April 28 that she is a Democrat. Abreu completed our Candidate Connection survey. Click here to see the response.
  • Jackson is an entrepreneur. According to her LinkedIn, she is also a member of the Young Republican Party of Texas.
  • Zapanta is a member of the Irving City Council, a retired Major General in the U.S. Army, and CEO of the U.S.-Mexico Chamber of Commerce.

Ballotpedia reached out to Jackson and Zapanta on April 28 to confirm their partisan affiliations. As of this writing, we have not yet heard back.

Although municipal elections in Irving are officially nonpartisan, local political blogs identified Stopfer as a Republican.

Lubbock

Incumbent Mark McBrayer, Peggy Bohmfalk, Stephen Sanders, and G. Todd Winans are running in the nonpartisan general election. 

  • McBrayer was first elected in 2024. Before he was mayor, he served on the Lubbock City Council. Local political blogs have identified McBrayer as a Republican. 
  • Bohmfalk is a U.S. Army veteran. In the Army, she was a counterintelligence special Agent and Russian linguist. 
  • Sanders is a U.S. Army veteran. In the Army, he was a supply specialist. His other career experience includes working in software sales and real estate. On his campaign website, he describes himself as a Christian conservative. Sanders completed our Candidate Connection Survey. Click here to see the response.
  • Winans’ career experience includes working as an environmental scientist, civil inspector, and field technician.

Ballotpedia reached out to Sanders on April 28 to confirm his partisan affiliation. As of this writing, we have not yet heard back. As of April 28, we were unable to locate campaign emails or phone numbers for Bohmfalk or Winans.

Mayoral Partisanship update

Ballotpedia is covering 22 mayoral elections in the 100 most populous cities this year. We are also covering 10 mayoral elections in state capitols, including eight cities that fall outside the 100 most populous cities. 

While most mayoral elections in the 100 most populous cities are nonpartisan, Ballotpedia has maintained a list of mayors’ partisan affiliations since 2016. Currently, there are 67 Democratic mayors, 22 Republican mayors, one Libertarian mayor, three independent mayors, and six nonpartisan mayors. One mayor's partisan affiliation is unknown. 

As we mentioned in our April 9 and April 16 editions of the Daily Brew, that’s the most Democratic mayors since 2016.

After the three mayoral elections in Texas on May 2, the next city in the top-100 to hold a general election for mayor will be Newark, New Jersey, on May 12.

Click here to learn more about mayoral elections in 2026, and click here to see our analysis of partisanship in this year's municipal elections.