Dominic Anthony Walsh/Houston Public Media
An overflow crowd participated in the first evening public comment session held by the Houston City Council on Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2025.
With a week until a Nov. 4 special election to fill an at-large seat on the Houston City Council, three candidates have emerged from the 15-person pack as frontrunners in fundraising and key endorsements.
If no one gets more than 50% of the vote, the top two candidates will go to a runoff election slated for Saturday, Dec. 13.
The seat is open during an off year for municipal elections because Letitia Plummer is stepping down to run for Harris County judge. The race will appear on the November ballot for all residents of the city of Houston, alongside 17 state constitutional amendments, school board races and a special election for the 18th Congressional District.
RELATED: Meet the special election candidates running for a Houston City Council at-large seat
Alejandra Salinas
During the most recent campaign finance reporting period from late September through Oct. 25, trial attorney Alejandra Salinas continued her lead in fundraising with nearly $50,000 — growing her overall base of contributions this year to more than $500,000. She held $193,000 in her campaign coffers, according to her report. Her average donation over the course of the year was more than $900.
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Alejandra Salinas
Salinas continued to lead the field in out-of-state contributions in October, with 40 of 97 individual donors listing their addresses outside of Texas — bringing her total out-of-state donor base to 144 out of 556 contributors.
A newcomer to city politics, Salinas is focused on improving local government service delivery — from street infrastructure to public safety — as well as more lofty ideals like equity and defending democracy. She boasts an array of endorsements from elected officials and powerhouse labor groups, including the Texas Gulf Coast Area Labor Federation AFL-CIO and Houston Federation of Teachers.
“She’s definitely the best positioned for the long haul,” said Brandon Rottinghaus, professor of political science at the University of Houston. “Her cash on hand is larger than the others. She’s got a deeper base of financial support, and although we might see some changes if there’s a runoff, she’s in a very good position financially.”
Jordan Thomas
In October, Grid United project manager and former city council chief of staff Jordan Thomas raised more than $33,000. His total contributions now stand about $52,000, and his campaign coffers hold about $17,000.
He led the group when it came to individual contributions during the October reporting period, with 161 donors each giving an average of about $210.
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Jordan Thomas
The progressive urbanist — campaigning to reshape Houston’s built environment through multimodal transportation options, repurposing vacant city-owned lands for housing and enacting a shade ordinance to boost tree coverage — earned the endorsement of the Houston Chronicle editorial board this month largely for his willingness to criticize Mayor John Whitmire’s policies.
According to Rice University political scientist Mark Jones, “if Thomas gets into the runoff, I think we can probably attribute that almost exclusively to his Houston Chronicle endorsement.”
“It definitely would allow him to capitalize on opposition to the mayor, which, while it’s not a large share of the population, it does tend to be somewhat intense,” Jones said. “The difficulty, though, is he doesn’t have much in the way of resources to educate people who don’t read the Houston Chronicle and the Chronicle’s editorial page.”
Dwight Boykins
Dwight Boykins reported raising nearly $30,000 during the most recent period in October, boosting his yearly total to nearly $140,000. He maintained about $32,000 in his campaign coffers as of Monday.
His average donation in October was about $520 each from 57 donors, down from an average of about $870 each from 125 donors in the previous reporting cycle.
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Dwight Boykins
A pragmatic establishment figure, the government relations consultant and former District D city council member is focused on flood mitigation in Kingwood, home repairs for senior citizens, incentivizing grocery stores in “food deserts” and addressing the budget deficit. His endorsements include former mayor Lee Brown, former city controller Ronald Green and multiple current and former city council members and state representatives.
“The advantage Boykins already has is, unlike Salinas and Thomas, he is relatively well known from his past as a city of Houston council member and mayoral candidate (in 2019),” Jones said. “He’s further benefited by the fact that he used to represent a portion of Congressional District 18, where turnout is going to be notably higher than elsewhere in the city because of the Congressional District 18 special election.”
Other candidates
Sonia Rivera — a business consultant campaigning as a staunch defender of law enforcement, advocate for affordable housing and opponent of government welfare and regulations — raised $7,130, bringing her total to $8,880.
Angie Thibodeaux — a public relations consultant advocating for government transparency, law enforcement collaborations with communities and support for small businesses — received $550, bringing her total to about $1,060.
Ethan Hale — a Houston City College student leading a seemingly flaccid effort to recall Mayor John Whitmire from office — reported raising $725, including $200 from himself.
Houston Police Department patrol officer Adrian Thomas Rogers told Houston Public Media he is no longer campaigning for the office, though his name will still appear on the ballot.
Campaign finance reports for the rest of the field — Brad Batteau, Martina Lemond Dixon, Miguel Herrera, Al Lloyd, Kristal Mtaza-Lyons, Sheraz Mohammad Siddiqui, Kathy Tatum and Cris Wright — were not listed on the city’s filing system as of Tuesday afternoon.
“Anything can happen in a low turnout, low-information race, but the likely runoff contenders are in a better financial position,” Rottinghaus said. “So I think (Salinas, Thomas and Boykins) are probably the most likely to make a runoff.”