Many in Lubbock County went to sleep Tuesday night not knowing the results of local ballot items, or how Lubbock County voters might shift the numbers in results for higher district, state, and federal races.
As of 3:30 a.m. Wednesday morning, Lubbock County Elections Office staff were still at work to solidify election results for the county.
Lubbock County saw more than 100,000 total ballots cast in the 2026 November election, a new record for midterm turnout in a county where Republicans have historically taken around 70% of the vote in midterm elections.
Despite the uncertainty, several offices covering the West Texas region saw candidates leading in significant-enough numbers that candidates were confident enough to claim victory.
With results from the rest of State Senate District 28, incumbent West Texas Republican Senator Charles Perry took more than 83,000 votes against Democratic opponent, Abilene-native Riley Rodriquez.
Perry is likely returning to a state capitol that looks very different. January would be the first time in Perry’s nearly 17 years in the legislature with a Democratic governor and lieutenant governor leading the Senate.
While he doesn’t believe the leadership change will slow things down, Perry said Republicans will have some “course adjustments” to think about.
“We still find a way to do big things for everybody that needs them,” Perry said. “So I'm not discouraged about governing. I think we'll find that balance to govern, but it is a wake-up call, I think, for our party on a lot of levels.”
The biggest party flips in the state were James Talarico taking Texas’ U.S. Senate seat, as well as Gina Hinojosa and Vikki Goodwin succeeding as candidates for Governor and Lieutenant Governor, all three of them originally represented areas around Austin.
Perry said one of the things he’s worried about with last night’s shift bringing forward state leadership out of larger cities is what he called an “urbanized” legislature taking attention – and funding – away from rural Texas.
“It's a real competitive environment for funding for rural Texas,” Perry explained. “And not to say it would be deliberate or nefarious. I think it's just common sense that you represent your district and try to make sure your district's covered. So I fear the competition for the funding of roads, healthcare, water, infrastructure; those things get a lot tighter and different looking than what it is today.”
Despite his concerns over what the shakeups could mean for the state, Perry said his job of representing District 28 hasn’t changed.
“I'm supposed to go govern for my district and for the state,” he stated. “So nothing changed in that regard, and I have no reason to doubt that I won't have the liberty and freedom to continue to work on infrastructure, whether I have it officially or not. That's what I'm going to be working on.”
That work will begin in very short order. Pre-filing of bills for the upcoming legislative session begins on Nov. 9. And in January, Texas lawmakers will convene for the state’s 90th Legislative Session.
Meanwhile, on the federal level, Texas’ U.S. Congressional District 19 is expected to continue Republican representation with newcomer Tom Sell. By the end of the night, Sell held a lead of nearly 60,000 votes from the rest of the district's reporting, according to data from the Texas Secretary of State.
While Democrats took control of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate after last night’s election, West Texas largely maintained its Red reputation.
District 19, covering parts of the Texas panhandle from north of Lubbock down to Abilene, has been represented by Jodey Arrington for ten years. Arrington did not run for reelection. The candidates to replace him were Democrat Kyle Rable and Republican Tom Sell.
Sell acknowledged that working in a majority Democratic Congress would be different than he anticipated, but he added the people of West Texas showed their support in this race for conservative leadership – and that he intends to carry the legacy of those who came before him.
“It's going to be a different kind of work over the next couple years, but I just couldn't be more honored to have that privilege. And look, I've been saying from the beginning of this campaign,” Sell said, “we all need to count our blessings more and count our grievances less, and we are so blessed to live in this nation, where we can have peaceful transitions of power, where the people can have their voice and speak.”
Sell said he is focused on the issues themselves, and has a history of working across the aisle to find solutions, while maintaining the principles that he said got him elected.
“I'm excited, even in this – what will certainly be a rebuilding phase for the Republican Party – to try and work, and my real hope is that this Democratic Congress focuses on legislating to address the needs of the American people,” Sell said. “I really hope we don't just devolve into kind of a series of impeachment trials and things that just exacerbate the divide that we see.”
Sell said he’s interested in further unpacking the election results and that those like U.S. Senate and Texas Governor are opportunities to learn from the people.
“The American people are never kind of the wings that we see in Washington, D.C.,” Sell said. “Largely, they're kind of this pragmatic middle that just wants our government to work, to function, so as to preserve these freedoms and these blessings that we know in the United States of America, and I believe we can do that. I certainly believe that we can do that in a meaningful way.”
Sell said he would be looking forward to his congressional orientation and to starting to build relationships with other new, incoming representatives. Orientation for the newest members of Congress will begin later in November, but before those obligations begin, Sell said he would be visiting his son and grandchild.