The biggest elections Warren Seay Jr. won before Saturday were held at his high school and later his college fraternity house.

Now, the 20-year-old student at Southern Methodist University has taken a significant step up politically as DeSoto's newest school board member. Seay, a 2006 DeSoto High School graduate, won the seat in a landslide against the kind of opposition that usually prevails in these races: a public-school teacher and a college instructor.

"What we saw last night was an affirmation from the community that we're ready for a new voice," Seay said Sunday. "We're ready for new ideas and new energy."

In about three years, Seay went from senior class president to an ambitious college student pondering a run for office. In less than two months, he went from a hopeful candidate with a $5 donation to Saturday night's election to a place in the school district leadership ranks.

Seay now is the youngest school trustee in DeSoto history. The Texas record for youngest was a 19-year-old in Lumberton, just north of Beaumont.

Seay, a senior majoring in political science and public policy, received about 73 percent of the votes cast in a race to replace retiring trustee Don McKinley.

Nearly young enough to be the son of one opponent and grandson of another, Seay said he worried that voters might not take him seriously. He said there was a danger he could be perceived as too inexperienced or as someone simply running as a school project.

He said he needed to convince people that a youthful voice with a fresh perspective was a benefit and not a hindrance.

Curtistene McCowan, a former school board president who had a middle school named for her, said she encouraged Seay when he brought up the possibility of running. She even offered to manage his campaign.

"This is a student, but he thinks well beyond his years," McCowan said.

Aysha Welch, a 17-year-old DeSoto High senior, wasn't old enough to vote for Seay, but she put his campaign sign in her front yard.

"He just left three years ago, so he knows exactly what kind of issues and problems the school system is having because he just experienced it," she said.

Seay decided to run for the same reasons cited by more traditional candidates. He was concerned about the direction the district was heading and thought a new voice was needed.

Early in his campaign, Seay said he is bothered that DeSoto High and two other campuses dropped from academically acceptable to unacceptable last year. He said he still has many friends at DeSoto High, and his brother is a sophomore there.

When he spoke at the high school this year for Alumni Return Day, Seay said he sensed a defeatist attitude.

"It felt like everyone had given up," he said.

That led to his decision to run after consulting with family and close friends.

To be taken seriously, Seay said he tried to work harder than other candidates and "overprepare."

Seay said he brought a taste of academic life to the campaign trail and studied district finances, board meeting agendas and minutes and education policy like he would for a final exam. He said there was little room for error.

"If you're 40, and they ask you a question like 'What's the tax rate' or 'What's the budget deficit,' you can kind of walk your way out of it," he said. "But if you're 20 and do that, they think that you have no clue."

At Seay's church, DeSoto's newest trustee was the talk of the congregation Sunday, Warren Seay Sr. said. He said no one at Friendship Missionary Baptist in Dallas seemed surprised at the outcome of his son's race. One church member had told him years ago that his son was special and destined for good things.

"She came up to me today and said, 'I guess that's what it was,' " Seay Sr. said.