Via Facebook
Quentin Wiltz defeated Tony Carbone in the Pearland mayoral election on May 2, 2026.
Pearland voters have elected the city’s first Black mayor in Quentin Wiltz, a Democrat-backed candidate in a Houston-area suburb that historically has supported Republicans.
According to unofficial results from Saturday’s election, Wiltz beat city council member Tony Carbone by receiving 51.1% of the more than 11,700 votes cast — a margin of 263 votes in an election with about 13% turnout among registered voters.
Wiltz is the first Black person to be elected as Pearland’s mayor, according to the Brazoria County Democratic Party.
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While the office is technically nonpartisan, both candidates earned the backing of their respective local political parties. Wiltz was endorsed by the Brazoria County Democratic Party, with Carbone listed as the preferred candidate in the Brazoria County Republican Party’s voter guide. Several Republicans had also endorsed Carbone in the race.
“Tonight, Pearland made its voice heard loud and clear,” Wiltz wrote in a social media post after the election. “Together, we chose progress, unity, accountability and leadership that listens. … I am deeply humbled, incredibly grateful, and honored by the trust you have placed in me. Serving as your mayor is a responsibility I will never take lightly.”
The results of Saturday’s mayoral election in Pearland, a town of about 130,000 located about 20 miles south of Houston, garnered national attention. Republican President Donald Trump had carried Brazoria County in the November 2024 election, earning 59% of the vote compared to 39% for Democratic candidate Kamala Harris.
The national Democratic party congratulated Wiltz on his victory Monday morning with a social media post, calling his win “huge” and saying Wiltz had flipped “a Republican-leaning suburb blue.”
NEW: This past Saturday, Democrat Quentin Wiltz was elected mayor of Pearland, Texas, FLIPPING a Republican-leaning suburb BLUE.
This is huge. Congrats, Mayor-elect Wiltz! pic.twitter.com/rIURwHrHCn
— Democrats (@TheDemocrats) May 4, 2026
On Saturday night, Carbone conceded the election in a statement posted on social media.
“Tonight didn’t end the way we had hoped, but I’m deeply grateful for the support, encouragement, and trust so many in our community showed throughout this campaign,” Carbone said. “Congratulations, Mayor-Elect Quentin Wiltz, and I wish him success as he serves our community.”
Via Facebook
Tony Carbone lost to Quentin Wiltz in the Pearland mayoral election on May 2, 2026.
In 2020, Wiltz lost his first bid for mayor of Pearland to Republican-backed Kevin Cole, who replaced then 95-year-old mayor Tom Reid. Reid had served as mayor of Pearland for all but one term between 1978 and 2020.
Neither the Brazoria County Republican Party nor the Brazoria County Democratic Party immediately responded to requests for comment regarding the mayoral election results.
In a statement to Newsweek, the Brazoria County Democratic Party said Wiltz “secured a historic victory in Pearland,” and that it was “time for Pearland to embrace its growing diversity and the opportunity to achieve great progress.”
About 42% of Pearland’s population is white, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. Hispanic residents make up 25.4% of the population, which is 19.3% Black and 15.5% Asian.