The following is a personal reflection from Election Day, written from my perspective as a journalist and a voter. While the events and election results described are factual, the emotions, observations and reflections expressed are my own.

Election Day began with a question: Would people turn out to vote?

With thunderstorms in the forecast across Greater Houston, I wondered how the weather would affect turnout. But as I traveled from Fort Bend County into Harris County and back again, I witnessed something that reminded me why elections matter. People were showing up for their communities, their families and their future.

Chelsea McCoy, Dexter McCoy, and Team Dexter McCoy

 

My day began at the Cinco Ranch Library in Fort Bend County around 9:30 a.m. There were no long lines like those during early voting, but voters continued to arrive. I ran into Precinct 4 Commissioner Dexter McCoy, who won the race for Fort Bend County judge, defeating Republican Daniel Wong. McCoy and his team were working until the very last minute to reach voters.

From there, I headed to the Alief ISD Administration Building in Harris County. A line stretched outside, much like during early voting, but it moved quickly. I encountered members of Darlene Breaux’s campaign team. Breaux went on to win Texas House District 149. One volunteer, who had moved to Houston from the Chicago area just three weeks earlier, shared a story that stayed with me. He had been searching for a church home and attended The Fort Bend Church, looking for a sign or calling. When Breaux spoke, her words moved him. He signed up to volunteer for her campaign.

It was a beautiful reminder of how civic engagement begins. Sometimes, it starts with a conversation or a moment when someone’s words speak to you.

From there, I headed to the Lorenzo Salgado Araujo Memorial on Canal Street in Houston’s East End.

Leticia Gutierrez and her father at the Lorenzo Salgado Araujo Memorial in Houston, TX

 

Throughout early voting, people had been leaving their “I Voted” stickers at the memorial. On Election Day, the tradition continued. Leticia Gutierrez, who won Texas’ 9th Congressional District, was there with her father. She described the moment as somber. It was. But it was also inspiring. I watched voters, many of them young people, visit the memorial. One young woman had flown home from college out of state just to cast her ballot. Standing beside her father, she spoke with me as she tried to hold back tears. As the downpours began, people continued arriving to leave their stickers. Rain or shine, they wanted to be part of something bigger than themselves.

I eventually returned to Fort Bend County for McCoy’s watch party, where I encountered Democratic candidates from Fort Bend and Harris counties. But as Gina Hinojosa took the lead in the governor’s race, I knew I wanted to be home with my family to watch the results unfold.

And I cried. A Mexican American woman elected governor of Texas.

Lisa Valadez and Gina Hinojosa

 

I thought about the teachers, families struggling to afford groceries and healthcare, people whose families have been torn apart by ICE, and Texans waiting to feel heard, seen and represented.

I thought about the young woman who flew home to vote. The new Houstonian who found his way into a campaign. The people who stood in the rain to leave their stickers at a memorial.

They were all part of this moment. Throughout Election Day, I witnessed determination, hope and a belief that voices matter.

Texas voted for change. As I watched the results unfold with my family, I realized I had witnessed more than an election. I had witnessed a moment of possibility for a state that so many people love.

A new chapter for Texas. One that began with people showing up.