a day ago
David Pfaff Victorious In Irving City Council Race
David Pfaff won a hotly contested Irving City Council runoff Saturday, defeating Sergio Porres with 52.74% of the vote — a margin of just 580 votes.
According to the official election night report, Pfaff received 5,591 votes to Porres' 5,011, improving his May 3 general election performance, when he secured 5,230 votes to Porres' 4,987. Both candidates gained supporters during the runoff campaign, but Pfaff ultimately widened his lead.
Notably, The Dallas Morning News reported that it was not allowed inside the Porres campaign's watch party Saturday night — though The Dallas Express was. Inside the room, Porres' allies reflected on the campaign's broader significance, including its effect on other council races and the city's ongoing casino debate.
'Sergio's race kinda carried this whole campaign,' said attorney Cliff Riley, a close ally of the Families for Irving PAC, which backed Porres. He credited the Place 2 challenger's candidacy with creating a surge of opposition to casino development, which he said also boosted turnout for candidates John Bloch and Adam Muller — both of whom won their respective races earlier in May.
Riley likened Porres' insurgent bid to that of former State Sen. Don Huffines' 2022 primary challenge to Gov. Greg Abbott, explaining that Porres was the one pulling the Overton window to the 'right.' He specifically pointed to Pfaff's decision to include 'no casinos' in his campaign mailers as evidence that the issue had become politically 'toxic.'
'We've won a big battle,' Riley said. 'Sergio made [the casino issue] utterly toxic for the other side.'
Riley also emphasized the diverse coalition Porres built, saying his campaign was effective 'because of our Muslim friends' and other religious voters who had long felt alienated by Irving's political class.
At the party, Porres personally thanked former general election opponents like Vicky Oduk, who endorsed him the day after the May election and campaigned with him in the runoff. He also thanked Elena Blake, president of the Irving Republican Women, who was among his earliest backers, among many others.
'We have done a really incredible thing,' Porres told supporters.
Porres expressed optimism about his future political prospects, suggesting Saturday's results had only laid the groundwork for a potential rematch.
'This was a warm-up fight,' he said. 'We are going to be unstoppable.'
He also pointed to shifting demographics in Irving, saying the city's Catholic and Muslim populations — including many large families — are aligned on key cultural issues and increasingly frustrated with the status quo.
'The demographics are on our side,' Porres said.
For his part, Pfaff appeared elated in a video posted to his campaign's Facebook page shortly after the result was called. In the video, Pfaff is seen smiling broadly as he approaches a projector screen displaying the vote totals, then embraces his supporters. The caption read: 'THANK YOU, IRVING!'
The election capped months of tension over the city's stance on casinos — an issue that dominated political discourse even after a proposed rezoning effort was formally withdrawn. Pfaff's backers included the Lone Star Conservative Action Fund, a political group linked to Las Vegas Sands, which spent nearly $200,000 supporting his campaign and others.
Pfaff publicly distanced himself from the group during the campaign, saying in a video, 'I cannot be bought.'
Porres, meanwhile, campaigned aggressively on an anti-casino message and frequently questioned why casino-affiliated groups were still involved in city races if the issue was truly 'dead.'
The campaign also exposed shifting alliances in Irving's Muslim community. Though CAIR Action Texas initially backed Pfaff, it later withdrew its endorsement. Other Muslim civic organizations moved to support Porres, culminating in the formation of the Irving Muslims PAC, which endorsed him exclusively.
Saturday's result means Pfaff will take the Place 2 seat on the Irving City Council — a seat previously held by Brad LaMorgese, who did not seek reelection. With Pfaff's victory, the composition of the council now includes a complex blend of pro- and anti-casino voices, but momentum appears to remain with casino skeptics — a movement Porres helped galvanize, even in defeat.
