Democrats see chance to flip Texas Senate seat
Democrats are eyeing a rare opportunity to flip the Texas Senate seat and potentially change the game in November, explains USA TODAY’s Susan Page.
Voting has ended and vote counting has begun for the Texas Senate District 4 special election.
There were only two candidates on the ballot: a Republican and a Democrat.
Tonight’s winner will take the district’s open seat in the Texas State Senate and represent approximately 950,000 Texans in Montgomery, Harris, Chambers, Jefferson and Galveston counties.
Here’s what you need to know about the election and its results.
Two hours after voting closed at 7 p.m., Republican candidate Brett Ligon maintained a strong lead over Democratic candidate Ron Angeletti, with 26,647 votes counted so far.
The current breakdown is as follows:
- Ligon (R) — 75% (20,042 votes).
- Angeletti (D) — 25% (6,605 votes).
All five counties in this election are reporting their vote counts as of 8:30 PM Central Time, as if it were 8:30 PM Central Time.
With only 8.04% of 112 voting sites reporting, here’s a breakdown of the votes the two candidates have received so far:
- Ligon (R) — 76% (19,703 votes).
- Angeletti (D) — 24% (6,272 votes).
- Total number of votes counted so far — 25,975.
The Texas Secretary of State reported that as of 8 p.m. CT, Republican candidate Brett Ligon claimed an early lead with 76% of the vote, based on a previously reported vote share of 2.68%.
Democratic candidate Ron Angeletti is closing in with 24% of the vote.
Who was on the ballot?
There are only two names on the ballot: Republican candidate Brett Ligon and Democratic candidate Ron Angeletti.
Mr. Clayton supported Mr. Ligon’s bid to fill the seat.
What was the vacancy?
The seat was held by former Republican state Sen. Brandon Clayton for more than a decade before relinquishing it in October 2025 to become the new chancellor of the Texas Tech University System.
Mateo Rosiles is a Texas Connect reporter for USA TODAY and local Texas newspapers. Do you have any news tips for him? Email us at mrosiles@usatodayco.com.
