After a delay due to the pandemic, the Lubbock mayoral race garnered 500% more votes than the last time the office was up for election.
Mayor Dan Pope earned a third two-year term with 56% of votes Tuesday night, according to unofficial, final results from the Lubbock County Elections Office.
A total of 87,636 people voted between incumbent Pope and political outsider Stephen Sanders. That's 72% of total voter turnout, which shattered records for the city. Records show 120,882 people voted early, by mail or on election day, almost 66% of total registered voters.
“That’s a league we’re not very much used to," Pope said about the municipal election participation. "But it’s good. We're pleased to see that many people go that far down the ballot.”
The mayoral race was one of the last on ballots. Ballots varied by precinct, but the mayoral race was toward the end no matter what.
In May 2018, the previous mayoral election, 14,604 ballots were cast in the race. When Pope was first elected in 2016, it was by 11,134 votes, archived data shows. In 2018, he won with 11,394 votes.
It was a good night for incumbents in Lubbock. Three city council representatives – unopposed Steve Massengale, Latrelle Joy and Shelia Patterson Harris - were all re-elected. State Representatives John Frullo and Dustin Burrows also won their respective races. So did County Commissioner Gilbert Flores.
U.S. Congressman Jodey Arrington was also re-elected.
