Brett Ligon replaces Brandon Creighton, who resigned to become the Chancellor of the Texas Tech University System. He fills out the rest of the term after winning a special election on Saturday.
"I don't know if they're going to let me carry sharp scissors in the senate right off the bat," Ligon told ABC13. "But they are going to have an advocate who pays attention."
Ligon is not new to politics. He served as Montgomery County District Attorney for 17 years, but he sees the Senate as a new and different way to serve the public.
SEE ALSO: Republican Brett Ligon, former Montgomery County DA, wins special election for Texas Senate seat
"The opportunity to meet people at a different juncture of their life," he said. "At a juncture where they need help, and you can provide help and help with the dream as opposed to the nightmare scenario in which I met people."
He will represent Senate District 4, which stretches from Montgomery and Harris counties, south and east to Galveston, Chambers, and Jefferson. The district is home to some 950,000 people, a population larger than five U.S. states.
Ligon said he's ready for the challenges, which include flood mitigation and dealing with rising property taxes.
"I'm more concerned about actually making an impact than I am just wanting clicks or TikTok. So you've got to work collaboratively," he said.
Ligon beat Democrat Ron Angeletti on Saturday for the remainder of the term, which ends in January.
He won with 75% of the close to 35,000 votes cast. They'll face each other again for a full term in November's general election. Ligon is favored in the heavily Republican district.
There were also municipal elections across southeast Texas on May 2.
In Montgomery County, the city of Magnolia voted to increase its sales tax to 8.25%, which is the state maximum. In Harris County, Galena Park elected a new mayor, Oscar Mireles. In Pearland, Quentin Wiltz was elected as the new mayor.
But voter turnout was low.
In Magnolia, fewer than 500 people voted on the tax increase, of whom 398 said yes. In Galena Park, the vote total was roughly 1,500 people. And in Pearland, a city of 160,000, fewer than 12,000 cast a ballot for mayor.
There are more chances to vote this month. In Houston, there's a special election runoff for City Council District C.
Early voting is happening now. On May 26, there is a statewide primary runoff, including the contentious Republican primary for the U.S. Senate between incumbent John Cornyn and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, which will determine the names you'll see on your ballot in November's general election.