By Josh Siatkowski | Lead Writer
Supporters for Republican congressman Pete Sessions gathered Tuesday night to watch the polls as the incumbent defeated democratic challenger Casey Shepard, earning a fourth consecutive term representing Waco’s congressional district.
With 89% of Texas’ 17th District reporting, Sessions had about 54% of the vote compared to Shepard’s 46%. In McLennan County, which makes up the district alongside Temple, the Austin suburb of Round Rock and a sizable portion of rural land to the east and north, Sessions won 59% of the vote.
Sessions, a Waco native, has represented the district since 2021 and previously served as a representative for the Dallas area. He has been a staunch supporter of Texas agriculture, and in February he announced a partnership with Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller to protect prime farmland from data center and industrial development across the country. Sessions also sponsored updates to the Farm Bill, which includes substantial legislation for the industry.
His support of Texas agriculture has been a key factor in his re-election bid, one of his voters said at Sessions’ election watch party at the Salty Dog Sports Bar.
“The Farm Bill is something that is a safety net for agriculture, and we rely on that,” said Regan Beck, a Wacoan and the Director of Government Affairs for Texas Farm Bureau Insurance. “It is very much of a risky proposition to be involved in agriculture with the cost of the inputs, the rain or lack of rain, all those different things, and [Sessions] has been very much a champion for us all along.”
While Sessions’ race favored the Republican, Democrats across the nation saw success in other races, including James Talarico’s Senate victory and Gina Hinojosa’s governor’s race in Texas. In McLennan County, Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton won 53% of the vote, and Governor Greg Abbott won 56%, both less than Sessions.
Sessions called the night “very hard” for Republicans but promised to serve constituents who voted for Shepard and other Democrats in places like Williamson County, where Talarico is from.
“We’re going to go and serve with honor and distinction,” Sessions said. “We’re going to get to know them, and they’re going to get to know us. And I feel very good about serving with and for them, and making brighter, better decisions for our future and their children.”
In the House, Sessions currently serves on two committees: the Committee on Oversight and Accountability — which acts as the House’s investigative committee — and the Committee on Financial Services, which oversees banking, capital markets and housing.
This election cycle, affordability has surfaced as a key issue for voters. In addition to a nationwide inflation rate of 3.7%, mortgage rates have spiked from 6% to about 7.4% in the last six months, according to data from the St. Louis Fed. In his role on the Committee on Financial Services, Sessions said he is looking at issues like housing investment and the national debt.
“Over time we’ll chew at this,” he said. “Financial Services does have a role to play in this, but it is to make sure that we have stability, not to make sure that we give things away.”
When Sessions begins his term in the 120th Congress in January, he will work with a newfound Democratic majority in the House and Senate, which both supporters and Sessions himself said will change how business is done in Congress.
“I do know that Congressman Sessions has been very good about working across the aisle and doing that,” Beck said. “I know though he’ll do a very good job, but it’ll really change things if we do change the balance of power in D.C.”
Sessions said that “it’s important to give [democrats] an opportunity” when they take control of Congress, but he would not be able to negotiate if democrats attempt to create “one-party rule.”
