SD27 open: Democrat Morgan LaMantia’s lead over Adam Hinojosa (R) has increased to 655 votes following the canvasses of Bee, Cameron, Hidalgo and Nueces Cos. The county-by-county breakdown is as follows:
- Cameron: LaMantia 41,643 (+63), Hinojosa 33,822 (+22) – canvassed
- Hidalgo: LaMantia 26,465 (+44), Hinojosa 16,078 (+18) – canvassed
- Nueces: Hinojosa 15,034 (+15), LaMantia 7,132 (+36) – canvassed
- San Patricio: Hinojosa 12,226, LaMantia 5,378
- Kleberg: Hinojosa 4,163, LaMantia 3,281
- Willacy: LaMantia 2,174, Hinojosa 1,551
- Bee: Hinojosa 4,384 (+8), LaMantia 1,900 (+6) – canvassed
- Kenedy: Hinojosa 96, LaMantia 36
LaMantia had a 569-vote lead on election night.
HD70 open: Democrat Mihaela Plesa’s lead over Jamee Jolly (R) has increased to 859 votes following the county’s canvass. Plesa led by 821 votes on election night.
House Speaker: Speaker Dade Phelan (R-Beaumont) filed for another term as the House’s leader. Rep. Tony Tinderholt (R-Arlington) previously filed for the post.
SEN/PRES: U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R) confirmed he would seek re-election to a third term in 2024 following a speech at a Republican Jewish Coalition event. Cruz was asked if his re-election bid would make him no longer a presidential candidate, to which he reportedly said there would be “plenty of time” to discuss that race.
Under current state law, Cruz could seek both. Sec. 141.033 prohibits candidates from filing for more than one office on the same ballot, which in this case would be the Republican primary ballot. However, Sec. 141.033(c) provides that the prohibition does not apply to a candidacy for president or vice president when paired with candidacy for another office.
Harris County: The Office of Attorney General filed a petition today (Mon.) with the Texas Supreme Court to toss 2K provisional ballots cast by voters who arrived at the polls between 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. on Election Day. Polls were open that additional hour by court order. Those ballots were counted but held separately as required by a stay issued by the Texas Supreme Court on Election Day. The county intends to include them in the official results, which will be canvassed by the Commissioners Court tomorrow (Tues.).
At least one race – 180th District Court – would have a different outcome if the provisional votes were excluded. Incumbent Judge DaSean Jones (D) took the lead over challenger Tami Pierce (R) when all provisional and final absentee ballots were counted.
A similar situation arose in Bell Co., where polls were ordered open by an additional hour and provisional ballots were cast during that hour. As far as we can tell, the OAG has not challenged those ballots in court, though their reasoning for challenging the Harris Co. results should apply to Bell Co.
