Flores Leads Buckingham in Texas Land Commissioner Race
Early unofficial returns show Benjamin Flores ahead of incumbent Dawn Buckingham with less than half the statewide vote counted.
Updated on Nov. 4, 2026 in Elections
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Benjamin Flores held a lead over Dawn Buckingham in the Texas land commissioner race on Tuesday night, with 57.8% of reported votes against her 40.9%. The Associated Press estimated that 42.19% of the statewide vote had been counted, and additional returns were still expected.
Why it matters
The land commissioner oversees roughly 13 million acres of state-owned land across Texas, so the outcome determines who administers those holdings. Because the count is incomplete, the final result could still shift before the race is decided.
Unofficial Associated Press returns show Flores with 2,541,836 votes (57.8%) to Buckingham's 1,797,918 (40.9%) and Neill Snider's 58,866 (1.3%), with 42.19% of the statewide vote counted. The remaining votes were still being tallied, so the margin could change as more counties report.
The players
Benjamin Flores
Flores is the Democratic candidate in the race for Texas land commissioner, leading in early returns.
Dawn Buckingham
Buckingham is the incumbent Texas land commissioner, seeking reelection to a post that oversees state land and federal disaster relief administration.
Associated Press
The Associated Press is a national news wire service that tabulates and estimates vote counts for U.S. elections.
The details
Flores led Buckingham by 743,918 votes in the unofficial count, while Libertarian candidate Neill Snider received 1.3% of the vote. Buckingham, the current land commissioner, is seeking reelection, and the agency she leads administers federal disaster relief funds and maintains administrative control over the Alamo in San Antonio.
Timeline
Tuesday night: Early returns showed Flores leading Buckingham in the Texas land commissioner race.
Political Context
The Texas General Land Office has long been responsible for managing roughly 13 million acres of state-owned land and administering federal disaster relief funds. Buckingham's reelection bid or Flores's win would determine who continues overseeing those duties and the Alamo under the agency's control.
Texans who depend on the General Land Office for disaster relief or land-related services will have a new or continued administrator depending on the final count. Election results remain unofficial until all counties finish reporting.
The takeaway
Early returns can shift as counties report, so readers should wait for certified totals before drawing firm conclusions about who will lead the Texas General Land Office.
Further reading
For more on statewide contests, see Elections coverage across Texas.
Source note: This article includes information reported by The Victoria Advocate.
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