U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz won all but six of the state’s 254 counties on his way to a first-place finish in the Texas presidential primary. He finished 17 percentage points ahead of second-place finisher Donald Trump, who won six counties, and 26 points ahead of Marco Rubio, who did not win any counties.
Trump won Aransas, Hudspeth, Sabine, Terrell, Webb and Zapata Cos. Rubio came closest to winning Travis Co., finishing just over 1 point behind Cruz.
The maps pictured below show the candidates’ performances by county. Cruz received less than 30% of the vote in just a single county (Webb Co.). Trump received 30% or more in 110 counties. Rubio did not receive at least 30% of the vote in any county.
Cruz’s highest numbers came in the East Texas, coastal Texas and the Panhandle. Trump was strongest in South Texas and Southeast Texas. Rubio performed best in the metro areas and South Texas.
The next two maps show presidential primary turnout by county, measured as votes cast for president out of registered voters.
They are almost mirror images of each other. The Republican turnout map reveals a deep red state in almost all areas except the large metro counties, South Texas and the Trans-Pecos portion of West Texas. The Democratic turnout map reveals a dark blue border area and otherwise pockets of blue, notably Travis Co. and its neighbors and, almost off by itself, Foard Co., which has resisted the migration of voters and local elected officials to the Republican Party.
As far as we can tell, all of the candidates for Foard Co. office were Democrats. Just 31 Foard Co. residents voted in the Republican primary, far fewer than the 233 who voted in the Democratic primary. However, that was 31 more people that the number reported to have voted in the 2014 primary. Or the 2012 primary. Or the 2010 primary.
