Just over 1.4M Texans – 8.1% of registered voters – cast ballots in the primary runoff election, according to unofficial results reported by the Secretary of State’s office.
Republican voters nearly out-numbered Democratic voters 2-to-1. A total of 927K votes were cast in the Republican AG runoff, the most of any statewide race, and 484K votes were cast in the Democratic AG runoff, the office with the most votes in that primary.
There have been 11 instances in state history when both parties have had statewide offices on the runoff ballot. Combined runoff turnout, measured as number of votes cast, was the second highest for a combined statewide runoff:
- 2.04M in 1972 (97% Democratic)
- 1.41M in 2022 (66% Republican)
- 1.35M in 2012 (82% Republican)
- 954K in 2014 (79% Republican)
- 948K in 1994 (79% Democratic)
- 848K in 2002 (73% Democratic)
- 716K in 1996 (67% Democratic)
- 610K in 1986 (75% Democratic)
- 563K in 2016 (67% Republican)
- 470K in 2000 (52% Democratic)
- 374K in 2006 (55% Democratic)
In 2018 and 2020, there were no statewide Republican races, but we were able to estimate turnout based on districted state and county-level offices on the ballot. Those years would have placed second (1.57M in 2020, 61% Democratic) and seventh (869K in 2018, 50%/50%) had we included them in the list above.
As a percentage of registered voters participating in runoffs, last night’s turnout ranked fourth for a combined statewide runoff:
- 52.6% in 1972 (51.1% Democratic, 1.5% Republican)
- 10.5% in 1994 (8.3% D, 2.2% R)
- 10.3% in 2012 (8.6% R, 1.8% D)
- 8.1% in 2022 (5.4% R, 2.8% D)
- 7.7% in 1986 (5.8% D, 1.9% R)
- 7.4% in 1996 (5.0% D, 2.4% R)
- 7.0% in 2014 (5.5% D, 1.5% R)
- 6.9% in 2002 (5.1% D, 1.9% R)
- 4.0% in 2000 (2.1% D, 1.9% R)
- 4.0% in 2016 (2.6% R, 1.3% D)
- 2.9% in 2006 (1.6% D, 1.3% R)
Turnout in 2020 for the Democratic statewide runoff (5.9%) and the Republican districted state and county Republican runoff (3.7%) would place fourth on this list at 9.6%, and the 2018 estimate of 5.7% would rank 10th if they were included in the list above. The 1972 figure is exceptionally high because most Texans were not registered to vote so soon after the end of the poll tax era.
Correction: In our late-night wrap-up of election results, we inadvertently placed the (D) label behind Mark Dorazio, winner of the Republican runoff for HD122 open (Likely R). We apologize for the mistake and have corrected it online.
AG (Lean R): The State Bar of Texas has filed a professional misconduct lawsuit against Atty. Gen. Ken Paxton (R) arising from his attempt to have other states’ 2020 election results overturned. The State Bar’s suit accuses Paxton of misrepresenting that he had substantial evidence supporting “serious doubts as to the integrity of the election process in the defendant states.” The suit seeks a finding of professional misconduct against Paxton and “appropriate sanction.”
HD63 open (Likely R): In a Facebook post, Jeff Younger (R) said he would “NOT call for unity in the Republican Party” following his 24-point runoff loss to Ben Bumgarner (R). “We must now commence on a program of resistance to Ben Bumgarner’s liberalism, establishment cronyism and propaganda.” Younger wrote that the voters “will now get it good and hard” after choosing Bumgarner. “Many of our voters prefer to elect images of people rather than conservative policy champions,” he wrote. “We must find ways to restrain and hold accountable our new representative.”
HD133 open (Likely R): Mano DeAyala (R) defeated Shelley Barineau (R), 51%-49%.
CD28 (Lean D): The Jessica Cisneros (D) campaign emailed supporters to raise funds to pay for a recount of her 177-vote loss to U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Laredo).
©2022 Texas Election Source LLC
