Trial attorney Alejandra Salinas beat former city council member Dwight Boykins in Saturday’s runoff election to fill a vacant at-large seat on the Houston City Council.
Salinas, a more progressive candidate, received 59.3% of the Harris County vote, according to results released by the county clerk’s office. Small numbers of voters in Fort Bend and Montgomery counties also voted in the runoff.
More than 17,200 people voted in Harris County on Election Day, after 26,155 ballots were cast in the county during the early voting period.
“I’m so grateful to all the Houstonians that voted for me and know that I’m going to work each and every day to fight for all Houstonians, regardless of whether or not they voted for me,” Salinas told Houston Public Media in an interview at 9:25 p.m. Saturday, before all the votes were counted.
When she takes office in January, Salinas said her focus will be “the exact things that I campaigned on — affordable and reliable city services, safer neighborhoods and fighting for a stronger infrastructure.”
The runoff came after Salinas emerged at the front of a 15-candidate pack in November with 21% of the vote, narrowly trailed by Boykins, who garnered 20%. She consistently led the way in fundraising, gathering more than $700,000 in political contributions over the course of the year as of her last campaign finance report filed on Dec. 5. By contrast, Boykins had raised about $140,000 as of his last report in late October.
In the eyes of local political pundits, Salinas also benefited from the frustration of progressives upset with President Donald Trump’s administration and the moderate, low-key approach of Mayor John Whitmire. While she expressed a willingness to work with Whitmire, she also criticized some of his policies — including his acceptance of the Houston Police Department’s legally mandated coordination with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
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On Saturday, she framed her campaign’s primary message as one of “hope and inclusivity.”
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Boykins regularly praised Whitmire and emphasized his experience as a former city council member representing District D in South Central Houston. Boykins positioned himself as a pragmatic moderate operating outside the bounds of partisanship.
The election loss marked another blow to his political aspirations; he also fell short in the 2019 general election for mayor, receiving 6% of the vote.
In an interview with Houston Public Media at 8:20 p.m. — before Election Day results were published — Boykins had not conceded the race.
“As a native Houstonian, this city has been great to me and my family … to allow me to take on this challenge, to help the Houstonians get a better situation, better quality-of-life out of Houston,” he said.
He referenced a negative website about his record published by Salinas’ campaign, the front page of which was emblazoned with, “What is wrong with Dwight Boykins?” It highlighted a string of gaffes from his time in office and on the campaign trail, including his use of ChatGPT to craft his priority platform this year.
“I’m always grateful for people who stand by me — all the business industries, all the seniors, all the people that stood by me, even when my opponent was doing negative campaigning and misleading people, they still stood by me, and I’m grateful,” he said.
Asked about his perspective, Salinas responded, “All our campaign did was share the facts.”
Some voters Saturday also cast ballots in a runoff election for a Houston City College trustee position. Incumbent Renee Jefferson Patterson beat challenger Kathleen “Kathy” Lynch Gunter, receiving 56.6% of the vote.
The at-large seat on the Houston City Council is open because council member Letitia Plummer is stepping down to run for Harris County judge in 2026. Her final meeting is slated for Wednesday, Dec. 17, and her replacement will assume office in January.
It will be a short first term. All 16 city council positions will appear on the ballot in 2027.
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