It's not uncommon to see canceled general elections at the local level.
When candidates run unopposed, cities don't hold an election and those candidates win automatically.
This year, a number of Mid-Cities didn't have elections for city council members.
Eric Wang ran unopposed for a city council seat in Southlake. This was his first time seeking election and he was sworn in May 5.
"It was kind of a surreal and very humbling experience because for several years, I've always sat in the audience and really looked up towards a lot of the great leaders, the selfless volunteers that sat on the dais," Wang said in an interview with KERA.
Wang said he has deep community roots and has been involved with city government in the past as a volunteer.
These connections made him want to seek office, even if it meant running a competitive campaign. He said he was ready to campaign no matter what.
But at the end, Wang ran without competitors. He encouraged others to get involved in city government.
"Getting involved really yields dividends in terms of being able to give back to the community," Wang said. "See what you're able to do for your neighbors, your friends, the other families in the town."
More than two dozen Mid-Cities council candidates won their races without going through the usual campaign process, including in cities like Mansfield, Grapevine and Haltom City.
Southern Methodist University professor Cal Jillson, a political scientist and author, broke down the topic in an interview with KERA.
"I think the fact that uncontested races are so common doesn't mean that the commonality is not troublesome," Jillson said. "A candidate that is not contested, particularly in the general election, is not being watched very closely."
Generally speaking, Jillson said this can lead to candidates listening more to citizen groups, like local clubs, than to a broad swath of constituents.
He said there's also more to it than meets the eye when it comes to these non-partisan local races featuring partisan politics. Candidates sometimes signal their leanings without necessarily stating them outright.
Even when candidates run without a "D" or "R" next to their names, Jillson said the Democratic and Republican Parties are paying attention.
"Part of a party's mandate is candidate identification, grooming candidates, preparing them to run for office," Jillson said. "So if one party is dominant in an area, they may have a more effective candidate identification and selection mechanism or process."
Seeing an uncontested race isn't rare, or unique to Texas -- or other Republican-dominant states. Jillson pointed to other states with high rates of elections with only one candidate in the running, like deep-blue Massachusetts.
So what would it take to get more people to run for office? Jillson said it's a difficult question to answer.
"Getting more people to run is getting people to understand the commitment of time, effort and money that they may be signing up to make," he said.
Those running unopposed are usually incumbents.
As for the city side of things, there are advantages to canceling unopposed elections.
Keera Seiger, deputy city secretary in Mansfield, said state law requires cities to cancel general elections when candidates run unopposed.
She said that requirement comes with benefits.
"The major advantage is that we are saving the city so much money by canceling our election," Seiger said.
Cities work with county elections offices to run local races. Seiger noted that runoff elections can push costs even higher.
Candidates certified as running unopposed wait to be sworn into office until the general election cycle is over, like all other winners.
Seiger said residents interested in running for local office should reach out to their city secretary for information.
Got a tip? Email Andy Lusk at alusk@kera.org.
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