Stephen Sanders

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Stephen Sanders

Nonpartisan

Elections and appointments

Last election

May 4, 2024

Education

Bachelor's

Texas Tech University, 2021

Military

Service / branch

U.S. Army

Years of service

2001 - 2003

Personal

Birthplace

Lubbock, Texas

Religion

Christian

Profession

Small Business Owner, Musician, and Motivational Speaker

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Instagram

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Personal Facebook

Personal Instagram

Personal LinkedIn

Stephen Sanders ran for election for Mayor of Lubbock in Texas. He lost in the general election on May 4, 2024.

Biography

Stephen Sanders was born in Lubbock, Texas. He served in the U.S. Army from 2001 to 2003. He earned a bachelor's degree from Texas Tech University in 2021. His career experience includes working as a small business owner, musician, and motivational speaker. Sanders is affiliated with Principled Veteran.

Elections

2024

See also: Mayoral election in Lubbock, Texas (2024)

General runoff election

General runoff election for Mayor of Lubbock

Mark McBrayer defeated Steve Massengale in the general runoff election for Mayor of Lubbock on June 15, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Mark McBrayer (Nonpartisan)	72.2	11,891
		Steve Massengale (Nonpartisan)	27.8	4,587

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 16,478
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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General election

General election for Mayor of Lubbock

The following candidates ran in the general election for Mayor of Lubbock on May 4, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Mark McBrayer (Nonpartisan)	37.4	11,552
✔		Steve Massengale (Nonpartisan)	28.3	8,739
		Adam Hernandez (Nonpartisan)	20.4	6,315
		Stephen Sanders (Nonpartisan)	7.1	2,200
	Submit photo	Antonio Renteria (Nonpartisan)	5.9	1,810
	Submit photo	Kolton Bacon (Nonpartisan)	1.0	312

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 30,928
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Sanders in this election.

2022

See also: Mayoral election in Lubbock, Texas (2022)

General election

General election for Mayor of Lubbock

Tray Payne defeated Adam Hernandez, Stephen Sanders, Gulrez Khan, and Epifanio Garza in the general election for Mayor of Lubbock on May 7, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Tray Payne (Nonpartisan)	67.6	12,986
		Adam Hernandez (Nonpartisan)	18.6	3,572
		Stephen Sanders (Nonpartisan)	8.8	1,692
		Gulrez Khan (Nonpartisan)	3.1	604
	Submit photo	Epifanio Garza (Nonpartisan)	1.8	343

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 19,197
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2020

See also: Mayoral election in Lubbock, Texas (2020)

General election

General election for Mayor of Lubbock

Incumbent Dan Pope defeated Stephen Sanders in the general election for Mayor of Lubbock on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Dan Pope (Nonpartisan)	55.7	49,064
		Stephen Sanders (Nonpartisan)	44.3	38,981

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 88,045
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2018

General election

General election for Mayor of Lubbock

Incumbent Dan Pope defeated Jonathan Cothran and Stephen Sanders in the general election for Mayor of Lubbock on May 5, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Dan Pope (Nonpartisan)	78.0	11,394
	Submit photo	Jonathan Cothran (Nonpartisan)	18.4	2,686
		Stephen Sanders (Nonpartisan)	3.6	524

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 14,604
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Stephen Sanders did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

2022

Stephen Sanders completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Sanders' responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

My name is Stephen Sanders, and I have come to bridge the gap between all races while keeping my Christian conservative values and Lubbock citizens' best interests at heart. I want to fight crime and homelessness and improve the quality of life in Lubbock, Texas. This election is not about me but about those who will come after me. My goal in life is to inspire, and I hope I have inspired some of you! I must admit that God has done mighty things in my campaigns, and this one is no different! Thank you, Lubbock!

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• We Are Lubbock Together
• We will lower the crime rate!
• We will fight to end homelessness!

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Tax policies are essential to me because they directly impact the citizen's income. We should always be looking to lower taxes or keep them from rising!

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

Ben Carson

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

The documentary called “ Uncle Tom “

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Transparency is the most important but loving your city deep down in your heart ensures that the candidate is the right fit. I also believe being educated helps to understand the magnitude of the position.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

What makes me the best is that I care about all people! I understand that their tax dollars don't belong to me and that it's easier to wait and vote than to decide and then tell people. We will not make decisions behind the peoples back.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

integrity

Protecting the citizens
Supporting the citizens ideas
Protecting your drinking water
Being at your events to support the things you do
What's best for all
City tradition

In this city Texas Tech University

What legacy would you like to leave?

Bring all races of people together, and we all raise our children to embrace differences and keep our city a nice place to raise a family. Giving out love to all is my goal!

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

9/11

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

Raising pigs with my grandfather!

What is your favorite book? Why?

When power meets potential by T.D. Jakes

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

Iron Man!

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

September by Earth Wind and Fire

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

Loving to hard!🙏🏾

A mayor is a leader in his or her city. What does that mean to you?

Someone able to manage time while supporting the city and its events and making sure the council is working together, and keeping a close eye on our finances and budget, and resources!

Mayors have many responsibilities, which vary from city to city. Which of those do you personally consider the most important in your city?

Making sure our citizens are protected and not underserved. Building our city leadership into a place of strength and understanding! Facing our most demanding challenges, such as crime!

If the mayor in your city is a member of the city council and there's a city manager appointed to handle the day-to-day administration of the city government, what do you believe should be the mayor's top priority in office?

Knowing that the city needs and building a blueprint of what that looks like and getting that to the city manager so he can help make the plan of how to get there the cheapest, most reliable way.

If the mayor in your city is not a member of the city council and oversees the day-to-day administration of the city government, what do you believe is the ideal relationship between the mayor and city council?

NA

What do you love most about your city?

We have faced so many challenging things, and in all those times, we always found a way to be resilient and bounce back! We are a diverse community with diverse needs, yet we are Lubbock together!

What do you perceive to be your city's greatest challenges over the next decade?

Protecting our water and lowering our crime as we continue to grow. Setting ourselves on a path to become debt-free or economically stable with low debt and a great plan to keep it that way.

What do you believe is the ideal relationship between your city and the state government?

We don't need the government to tell us what to do. I believe we can handle as much of our business without the government as possible.

What do you believe is the ideal relationship between your city and the federal government?

Same thing, little government little unless we ask or need it.

Tell us your favorite joke.

why didn't the skeleton cross the street?

He didn't have the guts 😂

What do you believe is the ideal relationship between the mayor's office and law enforcement?

It will be essential to us moving forward and beating crime, and making sure our city is safer! Chief Mitchell is a good man, and I believe he and I will do great things.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

2020

Stephen Sanders did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

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