Down in the polls when the DCCC largely cut her loose, she has since rebounded. But it used to be more common (even though the state allowed straight-ticket voting before eliminating it prior to the 2020 election). There would only be a continuation of a grinding, demoralizing politics. The numbers are further confirmation that Texans, generally regardless of partisan affiliation, are on board with relaxing Texass laws criminalizing weed. With 59 percent reporting, Greg Abbott is leading Beto ORourke 51-48. In fact, this has been the basic Texas Democratic party formula since the party last won a statewide election in 1994. She was a Patrick ally, but her replacement will likely be more pliable too. By 6 p.m., we should have a good chunk of results from Georgia. The younger ones are more ideologically right-wing, but theyll also, just as importantly, be inexperienced and more easy to push around. In 2015, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick took control of a Texas Senate that was pretty receptive to himbut it wasnt entirely his, even after he changed the rules of the body to reduce the number of senators needed to pass a bill from 2/3 to 3/5. )But it seems unlikely that Republicans will perform as well as they did in 2010even though they have brand-new district lines drawn to maximize their advantage. Hunt easily won the primary to claim the nominationhe soared over the 50 percent threshold for a runoff in a ten-candidate fieldand now the 41-year-old West Point grad and former Army helicopter pilot is growing his brand on Twitter and cable news, mixing in light trolling with more-substantive criticism and commentary about Democratic assumptions about Black voters and energy policy. Democrat Vicente Gonzalez has defeated Republican Mayra Flores, losing another it had held for the last six months, Democrat Henry Cuellar of Laredo won comfortably, Texas is not a red state. The U.S. Supreme Court, of course, rendered the question moot in 2015 by legalizing marriage equality. Even still, the gap between the resources available to Republican candidates and their opponents has been striking. Why? In populous Collin County, north of Dallas, home of much of the vast sweep of suburban cities that make up the DFW metroplex, Abbott is beating ORourke by 9 points with some 70 percent of the vote in. He became damaged political goods in the state after he took a sharp left turnand said, Hell, yes, were going to take your AR-15, your AK-47in his brief, disastrous 2020 bid for president. So maybe we shouldnt read too much into his slide in the countryside; it could be it was just another down year across the board for statewide Texas Democrats. With more than 80 percent of the vote in, he leads Democrat Mike Collier 54.6 percent to 42.9. And in doing so, they made it more likely that Trump wins his 2024 primary. And she had $3.6 million in campaign contributions, which used to be a lot of money. Even aided by Republican-friendly redistricting, a win by De La Cruz would do a lot to prove that the GOPs appeal with Texas Hispanics is real. Harris County district attorney Kim Ogg, a Democrat, did her part to do Hidalgo in as well, indicting several of her staffers over what was or was not (depending on which side you were on) a politically awarded contract as well as falsely insisting that Hidalgo favored defunding the police. Top menu. Many years ago, some former colleagues and I had a parlor game: which would come first in Texassame-sex marriage or marijuana legalization? If nonvoters were a political party in Texas, theyd win every election by a landslide. Seliger is retiring, and he will be replaced by Kevin Sparks, a generic Trump- and Patrick-endorsed conservative. In Bexar County, Republican John Lujan will hope to sneak back into the House in a district, HD-118, that has been made significantly more contestable for him. the Dude, thought that hed finally hit the big time. Shes polling a few points ahead of De La Cruz going into todays election. Greg Abbott has real power and influence. Then the Texas Supreme Court stayed the extension, leading to widespread confusion about whether votes cast after 7 p.m.including those of voters who were in line before the deadlinewould be counted. If incumbent governor Kathy Hochul looks like shes going to win, theres nothing to be gleaned about Texas from watching this racebut if Republican Lee Zeldin appears to be on track for an upset, its all but impossible to imagine New York electing a Republican governor the same night that Texas elects a Democrat to any statewide office. As I noted earlier this year, the idea that Hispanics tend to oppose abortion is based on faulty and outdated data. Around 9 p.m., a big cheer went up at the Harris County Democratic Partys watch party at the Chapman & Kirby gastro lounge in Houstons EaDo district. The State Farm insurance agent has flipped a long-term Democratic seat and will become the first Republican candidate to represent the Fifteenth in over one hundred years. By the time everyones done counting, the race will have cost more than $200 millionand thats to say nothing of the groups buying ads on behalf of the candidates that dont have to report their numbers to anybody. So they registered voters and made get out the vote calls, and they lost in 2020. Republican voters may hate the man, but the Texas GOP itself benefits when a Democrat is in officeparticularly one as unpopular as Biden. The only issue on which ORourke outpolled Abbott in a September UT-Tyler poll was bringing people together; in an October UT poll, Abbott led on every single issue except abortion, for which he was tied, and the environment. Yanmar VIO 50 mini digger Year 2019 Weight 4855 Hours 1435 with offset boom, 2 auxiliary lines, mechanical quick coupler, GP bucket and Yanmar engine. So why is Greg Abbott declaring victory? Agriculture commissioner is one of those posts that probably shouldnt be elected. Two other county commissioner seats are also being closely contested, which means that the Democrats 32 majority on the commissioners court could be in jeopardy. But the reprieve was always illusory. Still, the story is also about how boring the races have been in the other 35 districts. He also has an essentially unlimited pool of money to draw from. Floress Instagram had thousands of followers who subscribed to her hard-right content on immigration and abortion, along with the occasional QAnon hashtag. But the real story behind a Flores victory would be Democrats shooting themselves in the foot. Now Stanart is taking another run at Hudspeth, whom he blames for, among other sins, scrapping Stanarts design for the countys marriage license. The catch: theyre nowhere near being elected. Hes not harmless, mind youthere was the post that called for the Muslim world to be nuked, and the one that called Hillary Clinton a four-letter c-word (both were later blamed on staffers). This year, only 25 percent of independents have a favorable opinion of the top-of-the-ticket Democrat, while 64 percent say hes unfavorable.. Harris County elections administrator Clifford Tatum first appeared to suggest that late votes would not be counted, then clarified that the provisional ballots would simply be set aside pending further court instruction. Election cycles dont start and end anymore. WebDisclaimer: The online compliance history does not include minimum standard violations or corrective or adverse actions until after the child-care operation has had due process or waived its rights. WebBackgrounds Freddie Gray. And outside the urban areas, theres Tracy O. Last year, Jon Mark Hogg, a former Democratic chair in Tom Green County (home to San Angelo) co-launched the 134 PAC, which is trying to build the party in the 134 counties west of Interstate 35. In other #txlege news, voters about to send the first two Muslim state reps to Austin, @DoctorLalani & @BhojaniForTexas, in Texas history. Following a bumpy launch week that saw frequent server trouble and bloated player queues, Blizzard has announced that over 25 million Overwatch 2 players have logged on in its first 10 days. shamelessly tried to overturn an election. In the closely contested South Texas U.S. House races. California voters have now received their mail ballots, and the November 8 general election has entered its final stage. In the Twenty-Eighth District, Congressman Henry Cuellar is very likely to win, with an eleven-point lead with 72 percent of the vote counted. More of it is about the national climate. Similar problems with the machines were reported during the March primary election. He seems to spend most of his time posting on Facebook. One of the hot spots in that fight was Round Rock, a prominent part of the sprawling suburbs north of Austin. NBC News has called the Thirty-Fourth Congressional District for Democrat Vicente Gonzalez., who is up seven points with 98 percent of the vote in. Heres what we know now, as of 1:15 in the morning. Four years ago, Lina Hidalgo, a 27-year-old graduate student, narrowly unseated moderate Republican incumbent Ed Emmett. School board vice president Tiffanie Harrison was challenged by Don Zimmerman, a former city council member who became famous for his eccentric behavior. Web'The church covered up the abuse': Victims of predator priests want investigation findings released When I chatted with likely nonvoters this summer, many provided similar rationales for their conscientious objecting: neither party, they said, ever delivers on improving their material needs. WebKarl Christian Rove (born December 25, 1950) is an American Republican political consultant, policy advisor, and lobbyist.He was Senior Advisor and Deputy Chief of Staff during the George W. Bush administration until his resignation on August 31, 2007. That generally meant drawing maps to give incumbents safer seats. Enter TX-38, a stretch of the western side of Houston drawn to pack Trump voters into a district that resembles a juggalo face-paint pattern. I am Dropdown Menu. Finally, a Texas handgun license is an acceptable form of identification at the polls. Beto ORourke is on the road to becoming the Adlai Stevenson II of Texas politics with his two major election losses. But this year, in addition to her low name recognition and the unfavorable national political climate, Garza has the same problem every other statewide Democrat has: shes a Democrat, and Democrats cant find a way to win state office in Texas. The entirely self-caused collapse of the Texas power grid in 2021 killed hundreds and put millions through hell, and Abbotts most newsworthy response was to safeguard the millions his campaign donors made during the blackout. Over the summer, Flores destroyed him in the fund-raising arms race, bringing in $1.6 million compared to Gonzalezs $497,000. Democratic incumbent Henry Cuellar defeated Cassy Garca in the Laredo-based Twenty-eighth Congressional District. Her Democratic colleague Adrian Garcia was ahead 51.4 to 48.6 percent in early-voting totals against his Republican challenger, former commissioner Jack Morman; incumbent Republican commissioner Jack Cagle was behind by 49.2 percent to 50.8 percent against his Democratic challenger, Lesley Briones, in a district that was heavily gerrymandered to advantage a Democrat. Although early-voting results have been released, it could take many more hours for a picture of the same-day vote to emerge. Finally, mixed blessings for Austin: its always mixed blessings for Austin. Beto could easily fill that role for Democratic messaging. While all votes have yet to be counted, so some of these margins will likely shift a bit, as of 9:25 p.m., we are down to just a single viable swing district. The 2022 midterm election in Texas was part of the ongoing story of the 2020 presidential campaign and the already-being-written story of the 2024 presidential campaign. His power rests on that mountain of cash, which he used, in part, to crush an abortive rebellion in his own party in his primary earlier this year. This is the only job Im interested in. Neither Buckingham nor Kleberg enjoys much name recognition; like in most down-ballot races, the winner will likely be determined not by whos best suited for the job but by what happens at the top of the ticket. And Hidalgo, young though she is, will have a difficult path back into public office, should she want it. Rich Man, Dead Man No charges have been filed against Cuellar in connection with the raid, which FBI officials said was in relation to dealings between U.S. businessmen and the government of Azerbaijan. In time, Republicans moved on to other, more propitious issuesabortion, the border, crime. But after 2020, the Legislature decided instead to pack the citys voters and spare Republicans the indignity of having to represent them. Still, some conservatives thought GOP leadership in the Legislature was too focused on playing defense and not focused enough on offense. And when it comes to fossil fuels, Texas matters. Hes also doing worse than Joe Biden did in 2020 outside the cities and suburbs. But theres a problem: the county clerk no longer oversees elections in Harris County. ORourke is up by three points with about 70 percent of the votewhich is just a little better than their previous margins. At the same time, even if Gonzalez manages to maintain his lead, the fact that Democrats have had to spend big to defend a district where they should have had a sixteen-point advantage is a dismal reflection on the partys South Texas strategy. WDSU Mealer has proved a formidable politician and fund-raiser, collecting a record $8.6 million in donations since July 1 compared to Hidalgos $2.4 million. As the board members dive straight into the social studies standards review, well find out whether the steady hands prevail or whether disruption is back on the docket. Ratcliffe, guest author, 3:07 p.m. Its a nonvoting state, This Texas Election Could Change School Lessons Nationwide, contentious revision of the state social studies standards, Donald Trumps improvement in the region in 2020, recently employed to block the Democrats budget proposal, implicated in an alleged bid-rigging scheme, tried to tar Hidalgo as corrupt, incompetent, and ineffective, from real estate developers, business interests, and oil barons, partly because of former president Donald Trump, county that voted for President Joe Biden, at least twelve polling places apparently ran out of paper ballots, leading a local judge to extend voting across the county for an hour, simply be set aside pending further court instruction, deciding whether to decriminalize marijuana, apparently lackadaisical approach to reporting results, heavily targeted the city in redistricting, raised more money than any governor in U.S. history, catastrophic failure of the electric grid, Sorry, Democrats: Texas Isnt a Secretly Blue State, when a small number of hard-core activists chose their partys nominees, serious breaches of proper elections records management, pinning their hopes for retaking the county on another political novice. While for months analysts have considered the race De La Cruzs to lose, the candidates enter their final hours neck and neck. One thing you can say about ORourke is this: he ran. In Webb County, home of Laredo, Cuellar is basically unbeatable: Hes been called The King of Laredo. So Garca, like Cuellars progressive primary challenger Jessica Cisneros, has focused most of her campaigning in more northern counties around San Antonio, especially Guadalupe. If Democrats run strong in any of those races, we are probably in a different political environment than we expected, and our definition of competitive might well expand accordingly. We report on vital issues from politics to education and are the indispensable authority on the Texas scene, covering everything from music to cultural events with insightful recommendations. Civil rights activists worry that the actions of Scott and Paxton will provide cover for further harassment and intimidation of minority voters and poll workers. Welcome to Texas, kids! But just after the primaries, Vela made a baffling decision that dealt a serious blow to Gonzalez, announcing that he would retire before his term was over to take a well-paid position at the largest lobbying firm in the country. In 2018, they liked him: 52 percent of independents had a favorable opinion of ORourke, and 39 percent had an unfavorable one, according to Hensons polling. Flores was born in Tamaulipas, Mexico, and immigrated to the United States, where she worked in cotton fields alongside her parents (Floress father is an American citizen). If they remain Republican, then they will draw districts that minimize the Democrats ability to win down-ballot races. A key question in this years election was whether these trends would intensify or retreat. The Democrat enjoys greater name recognition thanks to his two previous campaigns, though, and hes won endorsements from a number of prominent Republicans alienated by Patricks hard-knuckle brand of politics, including state senator Kel Seliger, state representative Lyle Larson, and Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley. According to the polling experts at FiveThirtyEight, if PA-7 goes blue, TX-15, where Republican Monica De La Cruz faces Democrat Michelle Vallejo, shifts from toss-up to lean D. Adding a second Democratic victory in almost any of the close East Coast raceswhich include ME-2, NY-19, PA-8, PA-17, RI-2, and VA-2shifts TX-34, between Republican Mayra Flores and Democrat Vicente Gonzalez, to lean D as well, according to the various Nates. Our San Marcos campaign could boost [Democratic state representative] Erin Zwieners re-election and a progressive candidate for District Attorney. Going into 2022, the Republican establishment consolidated around De La Cruz, with House minority leader Kevin McCarthy, Senator Ted Cruz, and others blessing her with early endorsements. Democrats hopes of ever winning back Texas basically depend on them winning around 70 percent of the Hispanic vote. Thats not great. On the other hand, there are seven districts where one candidate leads by more than 50 points. Democratic incumbents Abel Herrero and Oscar Longoria should be safeBiden would have won both their districts by more than ten points had they existed in 2020but an especially large red swing could knock them off. The belief that those who dont cast ballots are Democratic-leaning is treated as nearly axiomatic, supported by a rough demographic analysis of the nonvoters, who are disproportionately Hispanic, young, non-college-educated, and poor. This will be the first general election conducted using the new electoral districts created last year by the GOP-controlled Texas Legislature as part of the once-a-decade redistricting process that occurs after every census. (They needed an anti-Trump landslide to make it happen, and that didnt materialize.) The 31-year-old county judge told the crowd of several hundred Democratic activists that she was cautiously optimistic about winning her tight reelection campaign against Republican Alexandra del Moral Mealer. Give Mike Collier credit: He doesnt give up easily. Over the past month, after Vallejos tack to the left, De La Cruz has increasingly gone after her opponent as a socialist.. In 2020, Joe Biden won Cameron County by only 13 points, reducing his net gain to about 15,000 votes. Hundreds of Texas babies die in their sleep each year. Pickren also signed. Key suburban counties outside the major urban cores that were once reliably Republican were becoming more Democratic. Her campaign pitches have revolved around (repeat after me) border enforcement, inflation, and fears of crime. Keeping the lights on was a low bar that Abbott failed to clear, but it appears hes been able to limbo under it. But morality and good thoughts didnt get Hidalgo elected. Since his 2018 run, ORourkes newcomer sheen has worn off. They came at us with everything they had, the 31-year-old Hidalgo said, in a speech that displayed a battered-but-victorious politicians very long memory. He gets up and yells, hes not afraid to look a little foolish, and Patricks priorities become other peoples priorities. If Republicans Brian Kemp and Herschel Walker appear to be coasting to wins, on the other hand, you can probably expect the same for Texass statewide GOP incumbents (which is all of them). (Some of us cant even agree that its legitimate.) So far, it appears that that wasnt enough for her to pull off an upset and end Gonzalezs career in Congress. But it was the organizing efforts of several local groups that really pulled off the victory. With statewide Republican candidates enjoying comfortable leads, the crowd needed something to celebrate. But there are a few other races to note around the state. Mealer tried to tar Hidalgo as corrupt, incompetent, and ineffective at preventing the crime surge that has dominated local news coverage for the past few years. In the Fifteenth, stretching from east of San Antonio to McAllen, Democrat Vicente Gonzalez defeated Republican Mayra Flores, who had held the seat for half a year after winning it in a special election. (The alternative, though, is the governor appointing an industry hack or a campaign donor, so maybe were better off.) Thats partly because the state has changed a lot in the intervening years. In large, increasingly liberal cities such as Houston, Fort Worth, and Dallas, Republicans see the widespread fear of crime as their ticket back to political relevance after years of losing ground to Democrats. Hidalgo portrayed herself as an upstart challenging the good old boys she said control Harris County, along with the Republican-controlled state government with which she has been in almost constant conflict during her four-year tenure as county judge. Seliger has been particularly outspoken, blaming Patrick for creating a culture of vindictiveness and maliciousness in the state senate. Fooled you! Get the latest science news and technology news, read tech reviews and more at ABC News. So far, at least in early voting totals, Beto ORourke isnt improving over his 2018 performance in Texass six most populous counties. Flores won in a special election in June, after Democratic congressman Filemn Vela announced an untimely retirement. Home heating costs rise as perfect storm causes increases. On paper, the Thirty-fourth is overwhelmingly Democratic: after redistricting, it wouldve gone for Biden by sixteen points in 2020. WebThe 2016 United States presidential election was the 58th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 8, 2016.The Republican ticket of businessman Donald Trump and Indiana governor Mike Pence defeated the Democratic ticket of former secretary of state and First Lady of the United States Hillary Clinton and the United States senator from In 2021, Republicans in the Texas Legislature also used the decennial redistricting process to give her a boost, redrawing the district to turn its slight Democrat advantage into a small Republican edge. Lina embodies the electorate that has sat on the sidelines: women, single women, immigrants, Latinos, communities of color, Goldman said. Once it has money, the party also needs to shift its messaging. Texas Democrats have long said Texas isnt a red state, its a nonvoting state. Out of All the Skip Hollandsworth Crime Stories, Bernie Takes the Cake. But this loss also isnt one that points to a way forward, like his 2018 loss did. Democrats tend to vote early at a greater rate than Republicans, so if that holds true in Greater Houston, its hard to see how Hidalgo holds on. In 2018 ORourke outperformed his polls and came much closer to knocking off Cruz than nearly anybody thought. Through the October reporting period, Beto had raised $66 million. Did the investment work? In Tarrant County, the right wing sees the potential for a final big-urban-area holdout, and the county has emerged as a center of book bans and the movement to root out critical race theory from high schools where it isnt taught. Do they subscribe to Guns and Ammo magazine? Heres What the Farmers Almanac (Right About 85% of the Time) Predicts, The Buc-ees Stops Here: Why the Iconic Chain Is Facing a Backlash East of the Sabine. Casar, meanwhile, is in his first run for Congress, but hes not new to elected office: the 33-year-old served on the Austin City Council from 2015 until the states congressional maps were redrawn to create two blue Austin-based districts and running for higher office made sense. Republicans immediately celebrated the win as proof that the party is winning over Hispanic voters. As has become typical in Texas, most of the real political action came in the spring primarywhen a small number of hard-core activists chose their partys nomineesrather than in todays general election. If GOP state electeds were characters in a movie, agriculture commissioner Sid Miller would be the one whos there for comic relief: as Ive noted before, he looks, and acts, like a French cartoonists caricature of a Texan. As I wrote back in February, the number of statehouse races in 2020 in which the winner was separated from the loser by fewer than five percentage points was sixteen; under the 2022 maps, the number would have been nine. Much to Democrats frustration, Abbott has remained fairly popular throughout his eight-year term. No longer do they ask not what the country can do for them, they dont expect it to do anything either. The early results? In his primary, he was challenged by Republican James White, a well regarded and pretty sensible state legislator who pointed out, repeatedly, that Miller was kind of a buffoon. This year, Collier has raised around $5 million to Patricks $20 million. No luck. After Texass five biggest counties voted for Joe Biden in 2020, former president Donald Trumpdespite his easy victory statewidedemanded that the state conduct a forensic audit to root out alleged voter fraud. Amazingly enough, by this fall, poll after poll found that Abbott outperformed ORourke on the issue of the grid. He had a twin sister, Fredericka Gray, as well as another sister, Carolina. The conventional wisdom around how the abortion issue polls has shifted more than once during this election cycle, in ways that have often been hard to parse. Paxton ended up in a runoff with Bush, the dynastys failson who tried the equivalent of a double bank shot by running as the Trump candidate despite Trumps evident loathing of the Bush family and enthusiastic endorsement of Paxton. But its also because of the other fellow on the ballot in 2020. Our thirty most populous counties account for around 80 percent of the states population. After just a few months in office, Flores may have to pack her bags and head back to McAllen. And our hope overall is to add thousands of additional votes among young and infrequent voters who will turn out to decriminalize marijuana and then vote up and down the ballot.. Mike Collier speaking at a rally in July 2022. Since launching her campaign, De La Cruz has hewed closely to the Republicans national messages, sticking to rehearsed public appearances and disciplined statements to the press. Even more shocking: as voters line up, Flores and Gonzalez are neck and neck in the polls. If Abbott and the GOP can break that taboo and push their messageHispanics are going Republican!that simple perception can help them win voters. The Doting Boyfriend Who Robbed Armored Cars Sweetwater, forty miles west of Abilene in a county that went 8117 for Abbott, has a wind-turbine blade on the highway at the edge of town reading, Welcome to Sweetwater. Democrats can remind voters there that Republican energy policies, such as cutting government subsidies for wind and solar energy projects, would harm their wind-farm industry. But as same-day votes slowly trickle in, its far from clear that Hidalgos narrow lead is good news. Local political leaders have described the alleged issues as, at worst, sloppy bookkeeping. He claims, not without reason, that elections have gotten even worse under Democratic control. That suggests to Henson that the ballot splitters will likely break for Abbott in this years head-to-head matchup. If the party is really going to get ready for 2026, it needs that fund-raising prowess in the interim, not just at election time. In 2018, the Democratic attorney general candidatea fella by the name of Justin Nelson, a litigation attorney by trade who ran without much of a political background or a campaign organizationcame within three and a half points of unseating the indicted incumbent AG, Ken Paxton. If you havent voted yet, go do that! Instead, Democrats have felt compelled to spend millions to fend off a scorching negative campaign from Garcia. ORourke is charismatic in person and on TV. That will change as more election day results come inbut it doesnt look great for ORourke. Hannibal Lecters creepy eruditeness. The race to win a six-year term is usually a snooze fest. Since there isnt polling on the niche group, I asked James Henson, director of the Texas Politics Project at UT, his thoughts. Fix the damn grid has been Colliers de facto campaign slogan. According to Goldman, the former executive director of TOP and an adviser to the campaign, these disparate groups came together to get Hidalgo elected along with county commissioners Lesley Briones and Adrian Garcia, winning a Democratic majority for the top county leadership, which might put an end to the clown car that has been the commissioners court for years. Year after year, King has managed to evade not only Republican opposition but Democratic primary challengers in a heavily Hispanic district. GOP primary voters made it clear: He may be a crook, but hes our kind of crook. There is one item in the race that is of interest to city dwellers, though: Miller is an advocate for medical marijuana, while his opponent, Austin lawyer Susan Hays, favors recreational legalization. But whatever happens, my conscience is clear.. The Texas House, with its 150 seats83 in Republican handsis a bit more fluid. At the time of his death, Gray lived in the home owned by his sisters in the Gilmor Homes neighborhood. Mealer boasts an impressive rsumshe graduated from West Point, served in Afghanistan as a captain in the Army bomb squad, and earned a joint JD/MBA from Harvard before moving to Houston to work as an investment banker for Wells Fargo. Wikipedia . Four years ago, Collier, an accountant from the affluent Houston suburb of Kingwood, came within five points of ousting Patrick despite being outspent $25 million to $1.5 million. None of the three South Texas congressional races have been called, but so far, Democrats are performing better in the region than widely expected. Evbagharu suggested that it may take until tomorrow morning to know who won the tightly contested race for county judge between Lina Hidalgo and Alexandra del Moral Mealer. Local TV news had just displayed early-voting results showing Democratic county judge Lina Hidalgo two points ahead of her Republican opponent, Alexandra del Moral Mealer. That means more than 10 million Texans heard them, shrugged, and said, Maybe next time., For the next few days, we will be discussing the eight millionhow they broke overwhelmingly for the Republicans on the ballot, as Texas voters have for three decades; how in five cities they also voted to decriminalize weed; and how in others they voted for their hometowns to become sanctuary cities for the unborn.. And tomorrow, some news anchor will utter the seven little words that melt everyones heart: Lets look ahead to the 2024 election.. In 2018 ORourke could run against Trump; in 2022 Abbott can run against Biden. The conclusions of those races wont be the only momentous occasions today. Jim Mattress Mack McIngvale, whose pricey commercials during the World Series had seemed destined to sink Hidalgos campaign. And thats why I think Hispanics are walking away [from the Democrats], because people like my opponentwho is a socialistshe believes in big government. If that margin holds, however, it will be a huge loss for Beto. Those who have held this office for the last twenty years have seen it as a stepping stone rather than a job, Kleberg told me earlier this year. With the exception of races for the state Supreme Court, which have not been called, Republicans have been declared winners in every statewide race, including Dan Patricks bid for lieutenant governor and Ken Paxtons for attorney general. Paxton seems to have little interest in running his office other than using it as a vehicle for owning the libs and appeasing his base. On top of the two crises, for eight years, Abbott has been signing bills into law that poll poorlythe latest and most significant being a total ban on abortion, which only 15 percent of Texans say they support. Odus Evbagharu, chair of the Harris County Democratic Party, told me that Tatum has only been in the job two months. A potentially strong voice on the left will be Ortega, who holds a PhD in teaching, learning, and culture from the University of Texas El Paso, where she teaches in the womens and gender studies department. Despite scandals, Ken Paxton is re-elected Texas attorney general, says the headline. When De La Cruz challenged incumbent Democratic congressman Vicente Gonzalez in the Fifteenth District in 2020, her campaign was considered a long shot; in fact, some in the McAllen area speculated it was a way to gain name recognition for her insurance business. Follow along for live coverage of the Texas 2022 midterm election from the. But as the race went on, the debate focused instead on issues on which Abbott enjoys a commanding advantage, particularly crime and the border. In a recent Fox News appearance, Monica De La Cruz explained that Hispanics have a specific set of politics: We love faith, we love our family, and we believe in the American dream and hard work, De La Cruz said, repeating the frequent Republican claim that Hispanic culture makes Hispanics natural Republican voters. A non-negligible factor for why Hispanics tend to vote Democrat is convention and habitwhich is to say, the sense that most Hispanics vote Democratic can subtly encourage Hispanics to vote that way. Hogg showed the man the address he was looking for. What do we know so far about the results? Elephants never forget, unless theyre Texas Republicans. Rural voters and those with lower education levels voted even more Republican than before, while many suburban voters and those with higher education levels split from the GOP, and the trade put the party in a bad spot in several different parts of the state. Morgan Luttrell, a former Navy SEAL and the brother of Marcus Luttrell, the former Navy SEAL of Lone Survivor fame, will be taking over a redrawn district currently occupied by Kevin Brady. That will certainly be true in part. Meanwhile, his office has bungled sex-trafficking prosecutions in full view of the public. The pledge includes a promise to oppose any attempts to devalue and denigrate the Texas Revolution and the role of independence and the preservation of rights as the primary motivation for those who fought in the revolution. That will come up in the social studies review. Who will run Texas? The incumbents reported threats and harassment, and one opponent of the group reported receiving a manila envelope with four apparently used tampons insideand that wasnt even the most bizarre thing that happened. Eventually, a local came to his car and asked him if he was lost. The Tiniest Bank in Texas Didnt Deal in Change, The Top 50 Texas BBQ Joints: 2021 Edition, Please Do Not Touch the Toxic Toupee, a.k.a. The GOP did pick up a seat in the Thirty-fourth, anchored in McAllen, where Monica De La Cruz defeated Michelle Vallejo. Paxton was indicted on felony securities-fraud charges in 2015, and his senior staff, well-credentialed conservatives, quit or were fired in 2020 after they publicly accused him of taking bribes from a campaign donor. Welcome to the Texas Monthly Election Day live blog. While also an incumbent, Gonzaleza moderate, self-styled Blue Dog Democrathas not attracted the same national media attention as Flores. Before the all-important Republican primary in March, he appeared in Conroe, playing to a large audience and putting his stamp of approval on a slate of statewide candidatesall of whom won. Decision Desk HQ has called the attorney generals race for Ken Paxton. In obtaining his help, they solidified Trumps position as el jefe of the GOP. Flores cruised to an easy victory. No dice. Christian talks a lot about the virtues of the free market and the need for American energy dominance. The oil and gas industry must like what it hears from him. That polling margin is uncomfortably close. Republicans do seem likely to pull off one victory, though: Monica De La Cruz looks like shell beat progressive Democrat Michelle Vallejo. In populous Collin County, north of Dallas, home of much of the vast sweep of suburban cities that make up the DFW metroplex, Abbott is beating ORourke by 9 points with some 70 percent of the vote in. Back in January, as agents in FBI jackets poured into Congressman Henry Cuellars campaign office and home in Laredo, it looked like it could be the beginning of the end for the nine-term Democratic congressmans long, iconoclastic political career. On paper, the newly redrawn district is deep blue: President Biden would have carried it by nearly 16 points in 2020. Kleberg is a scion of the legendary King Ranch family who has built a reputation as a conservationist, businessman, and filmmaker. Addressing the raucous crowd, Hidalgo accused Mealer of pandering to the lowest common denominator and of fearmongering about crime, repeatedly comparing her opponent to former president Donald Trump. She oversees the magazines travel and style sections. Thanks for following along yesterday and today! At some point, demographics will change, political winds will shift, and demographics will change, so some of those districts may end up competitive againbut that probably wont happen until around 2028. But she owes much of her success to a gift from a Democratic congressman, Filemn Vela. No one had updated the Democrats map. Though a few polls over the last six months have put ORourke within six points, most have him losing to Abbott by about ten, and it has rarely felt like the race is truly contested. A group called Round Rock One Familynot a cultran a slate of candidates challenging incumbents it felt were insufficiently loyal to traditional values. But not this year. Salman Bhojani has been elected to a seat in North Texas anchored in the diverse Mid-Cities, between Dallas and Forth Worth. Houstons traditional business establishment is desperate to unseat a young progressive Democrat who refuses donations from county vendors. The tour focused on friendly audiences in rural areas, with a goal of driving turnout among Republican faithful. WMUR WebThe Definitive Voice of Entertainment News Subscribe for full access to The Hollywood Reporter. well, the pack has been thinning for a while now, until one day it was mostly just Kel Seliger. Having two viable parties in a state makes for good policy for all the people in that state. Republicans, after all, buy lamps too. uncompetitivecongressional, legislative, and State Board of Education districts for incumbent officeholders. Republicans hope to contest several districts in South Texas currently held by Democrats. He has also wanted desperately, for his entire tenure in office, to institute a voucher scheme to pay for Texas kids to go to private schools, a measure which has been blocked, in effect, by rural Republicans whose communities depend on public schools. In 2020, Joe Biden beat Donald Trump here by 13 percentage points. He also sparred with Patrick, sometimes bitterly and in public. ORourkes brief presidential campaign didnt help his brand. In 1998, for example, George W. Bush won the governors race by 27 percentage points while Rick Perry only took the lieutenant governors race by 2. Those rebellious old-timers. The two-term Texas attorney generalan alleged serial crook, a crummy lawyer, an incompetent administratoris not, shall we say, overflowing with charisma. This Friday, were taking a look at Microsoft and Sonys increasingly bitter feud over Call of Duty and whether U.K. regulators are leaning toward torpedoing the Activision Blizzard deal. In the last few weeks of her campaign, shes retooled her message into something unapologetically progessive, appearing onstage in McAllen with Sanders and the democratic socialist congressional candidate Greg Casar (whos expected to cruise to victory in a district that stretches from Austin to San Antonio). Stan Stanart cant get no respect. The RRC oversees an industry that plays a critical role in climate change and contributes to deadly electric-grid blackouts. Trump lost, but not by much, and it was clear there wasnt going to be a return to the old status quo, or a push forward to new and better values. WebAttorneys representing Bubba Gavrel and those representing the family of Stan Farr have both filed $3 million suits against the multimillionaire. Democrats keep counting on one superhero candidate at the top of the ticket to save them. Take 2020, for example, when Democrats registered 150,000 more Texans than the Republicans, but the GOP convinced 26,000 more new registrants to actually vote for its candidates. (In 2021, following some unexpected Democratic victories in state Senate races, he reduced it from 3/5 to the somewhat comical and irreducible fraction of 18/31, or 58 percent of the Senate. First, the troopification of the Texas congressional delegation is acceleratingmore veterans of the war on terror are taking up posts, picking up supply drops left by Congressman Dan Crenshaw, among others. Encouraged by Donald Trumps improvement in the region in 2020, the GOP invested in community centers and massive voter-outreach campaigns there. While voters in, say, Atlanta and New York arent identical to ones in Texas, we can learn some broad political trends from how they vote. The Democratic partys brand in rural Texas, and particularly rural West Texas, is not just tainted: its toxic. I think its fair to say that he pre-wrote that line. Part of that is on the media, which couldnt get enough ORourke coverage in 2018 but this year had a lot else to worry about. South Texas is the most heavily Hispanic region in the state, and its also where the only competitive congressional races in Texas will be decided. Another scenario: the weed measures pass, and Dems get slaughtered locally anyway. From stock market news to jobs and real estate, it can all be found here. How the nonvoters would vote if participating in elections were mandatory is an academic question. In Harris County, for instance, Republican county judge candidate Alexandra del Moral Mealer has tried to pin rising crime on incumbent county judge Lina Hidalgo. Of the Latinas surveyed, 63 percent said they would vote for candidates who support abortion rights. While the Democratic commissioner candidates are all hanging on to slim leads, the Harris County GOP is surely buoyed by so many close races in a county that voted for President Joe Biden by 13 points and hasnt elected a Republican to a statewide office since 2014. This has been one of the stranger races in Texas this year, because both candidates are incumbents. Trump overshadowed the election this year in a big way. You have made it past the marquee races and arrived at the one for railroad commissioner. Freddie Carlos Gray Jr. (August 16, 1989 April 19, 2015) was the 25-year-old son of Gloria Darden. WebHearst Television participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites. HHSC disclaims liability for any errors or omissions from the compliance history information. It looks like he lost ground elsewhere, tooin some suburbs (Collin County, north of Dallas) as well as in big metro areas (Harris County). A recent poll from the University of Houstons Hobby School of Public Affairs shows Patrick leading Collier 51 percent to 36 percent, with 10 percent of respondents undecided. Measure twice, cut twice. And indeed, there is evidence that abortion could be a deciding issue in Floress race and othersbut in the other direction. That red wave was the beginning of a long, difficult decade in the wilderness for Texas Democrats. What was most important about this victory was how it could serve as a template foryesfuture Democratic victories. Texas Still, 65 percent of Texans said public safety was very important to their vote, with a sharp distinction between the attitudes of Republicans (73 percent of whom said public safety was very important) and Democrats (57 percent) and independents (55 percent). Meanwhile few Texans, in polls, say the most important issue for them is abortion, or the power grid, or the health-care system. Can Alexandra del Moral Mealer Save the Harris County GOP? Floress incredible turn of fortune has much to do with her innate political acumen: shes proven to be a brilliant campaigner. Given the breakdown of early voters who have voted before (40 percent Republican, 29 percent Democratic), 70 percent of voters with no prior primary-election history would have to have voted for Democrats for the party to have won the early vote. (Gonzalez has raised about $2.9 million total.). Out of 38 Texas congressional seats on the ballot, only a handful are considered competitive, all of them in South Texas and the Rio Grande Valley. Two years ago he lost to Democratic county clerk Teneshia Hudspeth by nearly eight points in a special election called to replace Trautman, who had resigned for health reasons. So its probably safe to learn your representatives name in the meantime. But early voting tends to favor Democrats, of course. With some 60 percent of the vote reported, the race has been called for Abbott. Dan Solomon writes about politics, music, food, sports, criminal justice, health care, film, and business. The second most populous county in the country that Trump carried in 2016, it voted for ORourke over Ted Cruz in 2018, and Joe Biden over Donald Trump in 2020. The 72-year-old Christian, who won his first political office in 1996, is facing a fresh-faced first-time candidate, 33-year-old Luke Warford. The campaign, chronicled in depth by the Austin Chronicle, took on an intensely deranged character. MSN Across rural communities, Democrats can also make hay of the GOPs push for a private-school voucher system. And yet, as consequential as the results will be for governanceand the future of democracyin Austin and in Washington, D.C., most statehouse and congressional contests in Texas are foregone conclusions. Hundreds of thousands of voters did just that. A Third Is Accused of Graft. Harris County is not just Texass most populous county, it is also a prerequisite for statewide political success. have to kowtow to the lieutenant governor or theyre punished, Mike Colliers Excellent Political Adventure, a year talking about regulating bathroom use, How Greg Abbott Became the Most Powerful Governor in Texas History, safeguard the millions his campaign donors made, Texas Democrats Are the Charlie Brown of Political Parties, Minority Rule: How 3 Percent of Texans Call the Shots for the Rest of Us, Another Extreme Texas Winter? 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