A rapidly growing Texas city at the center of debates over immigration, religion and demographic change has elected a mayor who campaigned on unity, delivering a setback to a candidate whose campaign drew attention for anti-Muslim rhetoric and culture-war messaging.
Voters in Frisco, a suburb north of Dallas that has become one of the fastest-growing cities in the United States, elected Mark Hill in Saturday’s mayoral runoff. Hill, a conservative attorney and former school board member, defeated Rod Vilhauer in a race that attracted statewide attention amid broader political battles unfolding across Texas.
The election was widely viewed as a test of whether increasingly aggressive anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant rhetoric gaining traction in parts of Texas politics would resonate in one of the state’s most diverse and economically dynamic communities…