Texas Border Business
By Roberto Hugo González / Texas Border Business
McALLEN, Texas — May 2, 2026 — McAllen voters in District 5 cast their ballots Saturday in a special election to fill the remainder of Mayor Pro Tem Seby Haddad’s term, which ends in 2027. Unofficial results show a tightly contested race that may hinge on a handful of outstanding ballots.
District 5 has approximately 12,000 registered voters, but turnout was low, with just 1,141 ballots cast—representing about 9.5% participation.
The election, triggered by Haddad’s decision to run for state representative, featured three candidates: Felida Villarreal, Mark Murray, and Michael Fallek.
Early voting steadily increased in the days leading up to Election Day, reaching 828 ballots by April 28. With 69 mail-in ballots included, a total of 897 votes had been cast before polls opened Saturday.
On Election Day, 245 additional ballots were cast at McAllen High School, bringing the total vote count to 1,141, according to unofficial city results.
Fallek currently leads with 571 votes, or 50.04%, narrowly surpassing the threshold required to win outright. Villarreal received 411 votes (36.02%), while Murray garnered 159 votes (13.94%). Combined, Villarreal and Murray accounted for 570 votes.
Despite Fallek’s slim majority, the race has not yet been finalized. There are three votes still outstanding—provisional ballots that have not been fully validated. The voters may or may not be eligible, but if even one of those votes is deemed valid and does not go to Fallek, the election would move to a runoff.
According to information provided to Texas Border Business, Hidalgo County is expected to release the final determination on Tuesday. At this time, Fallek is not the official winner, but he holds a slim majority.
