SAN BENITO – The San Benito voters are ready for a new mayor. Newcomer Ben Gomez has unofficially beaten Mayor Celeste Sanchez by nearly 200 votes.

This election is Gomez’s first run at public office.

The early voting results were released at about 7:30 Saturday night. Those showed Gomez ahead by about 100 votes.

With just over 200 voters casting their votes on Saturday, Gomez extended his lead as precincts were tabulated. The final vote count was 1,108 to Sanchez’s 916.

The 51-year-old is a parent educator with the San Benito school district. He said he has no previous experience in politics but he’s eager to learn and says he knows San Benito is ready for growth.

“Our city has not produced anything. All the cities are. Neighboring cities are growing, our city is the same. Everything is the same. It’s never moved forward. It’s just at a standstill and I think we are in a rut and we need to change that. We need more business coming in and we need a lot of changes,” Gomez said.

Sanchez said she called Gomez to congratulate him and offered him her help when he needs it.

She said she’s proud of the projects that were set in motion, like the downtown revitalization and breaking ground on the new museum.

Sanchez was the first woman elected as San Benito mayor back in 2014.

The numbers are still unofficial until they are canvassed by city commissioners.

For more elections results visit: KRGV Elections.