Slow reporting of numbers – early voting and Election Day – muddled some views that are normally clear much earlier in the evening, but we now have a fairly complete picture of the winners, losers and runoff participants. Vote percentages below are unofficial and as of 3 a.m. CT.

Comm. Ryan Sitton

Comm. Ryan
Sitton

Only one statewide, legislative or congressional incumbent was defeated tonight, and it was not anyone on anyone’s radar screen. Railroad Comm. Ryan Sitton (R) shockingly lost to Robstown environmental remediator Jim Wright by a dozen percentage points despite out-raising him, $1.1M to $17K. Sitton reported having $2.2M on hand as of February 22.

U.S. Reps. Kay Granger (R-Fort Worth) and Henry Cuellar (D-Laredo) turned away spirited and well-funded challengers. Granger defeated conservative challenger Chris Putnam by around 17 points, while Cuellar narrowly turned aside his progressive challenger Jessica Cisneros by 3 points.

Six other incumbents were not as fortunate and ended up in runoffs:

  • Eddie Lucio Jr. (D-Brownsville) was 142 votes shy of a majority and will face Sara Stapleton-Barrera (36%).
  • Lorraine Birabil (D-Dallas), facing five opponents, won a narrow plurality with 30% of the vote and will face Jasmine Crockett (26%).
  • Harold Dutton (D-Houston), thanks to a lackluster performance among Election Day voters, fell below a majority vote (45%) and will face Houston council member Jerry Davis (25%).
  • Anna Eastman (D-Houston), facing four opponents, led the field with 42% and will face Penny “Morales” Shaw (22%).
  • Dan Flynn (R-Van), who received 44% of the vote, will face Bryan Slaton (35%), who unsuccessfully challenged him twice before. This time, there was a third candidate.
  • J.D. Sheffield (R-Gatesville) came in second with 30% of the vote but managed to make the runoff against Shelby Slawson (46%).

In Cameron Co., Reps. Alex Dominguez (51%) and Eddie Lucio III (54%) survived scares from Amber Medina and Erin Gamez, respectively.

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (R) cruised to re-nomination with 76% of the vote. He will face the winner of the Democratic runoff between M.J. Hegar (23%) and either Sen. Royce West (14%) or Cristina Tzintzún Ramirez (13%). As of 2:30 a.m., Dallas Co. had only partially reported, and West ran very strongly there, enough to squeeze past Tzintzún Ramirez by our calculations.

The congressional open-seat races and nominations to challenge the incumbent party went down like this:

  • CD2: Democrats Sima Ladjevardian (48%) will face Elisa Cardnell (31%) for the opportunity to challenge U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Houston).
  • CD7: Wesley Hunt (61%) won the Republican nomination outright and will face U.S. Rep. Lizzie Fletcher (D-Houston) in November.
  • CD10: A runoff between Democrats Mike Siegel (45%) and Pritesh Gandhi (32%) will determine who will face U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Austin) in November.
  • CD11 open: August Pfluger (52%) appeared to win the 10-candidate race outright.
  • CD13 open: Josh Winegarner (39%) and Ronny Jackson (20%) advanced to the runoff.
  • CD17 open: Former U.S. Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Dallas) surprisingly led the field with 32% of the vote and will face Renée Swann (19%), who edged out George Hindman by less than 2 points.
  • CD22 open: Buoyed by a majority vote in his home county, Fort Bend Co. Sheriff Troy Nehls (41%) will face the self-funded Kathaleen Wall (19%) in the runoff. The winner will face Sri Preston Kulkarni, who won the Democratic primary outright.
  • CD23 open: Tony Gonzales II (28%) and Raul Reyes (24%) will meet in the Republican runoff. The winner will face Gina Ortiz Jones, who won the Democratic primary outright.
  • CD24 open: Former Irving Mayor Beth Van Duyne won the Republican primary outright with 68% of the vote. She will face the winner of the Democratic runoff between Kim Olson (40%) and Candace Venezuela (32%).
  • CD32: Genevieve Collins was over 50% as of press time, but she would face Floyd McLendon Jr. (35%) in a runoff should she slip under a majority. U.S. Rep. Colin Allred (D-Dallas) awaits in November.

Several other runoffs will be required to settle less competitive general election races.

The Democratic nomination for SD19 will be settled in a runoff between Xochil Peña Rodriguez (44%) and Rep. Roland Gutierrez (38%). The winner will face Sen. Pete Flores (R-Pleasanton).

The state House welcomed two new presumptive members, neither of which have opposition in November:

  • Jake Ellzey won the three-way Republican primary for HD10 with 65% of the vote
  • Claudia Ordaz Perez defeated Elisa Tamayo, 56%-44%, in the Democratic primary for HD76

Other open seats will require runoffs to settle:

  • HD25 – Republicans Ro’Vin Garrett will face Cody Vasut
  • HD26 – Republicans Matt Morgan (49.7%) missed an outright win by 49 votes and will face Jacey Jetton (41%)
  • HD60 – Republicans Jon Francis (46%) will face Glenn Rogers (44%)
  • HD119 – Democrats Liz Campos (48.6%) will face Jennifer Ramos (42%)

In HD45, Carrie Isaac (48%) will face Bud Wymore (41%) for the opportunity to challenge Rep. Erin Zwiener (D-Driftwood). In HD47, Jennifer Fleck (33%) will face former Austin council member Don Zimmerman (23%) to face Rep. Vikki Goodwin (D-Austin) in November.

In open HD74, it appears that Rowland Garza has won the Democratic nomination outright. It appears he will face Ruben Falcon in November.

In open HD92, Jeff Cason won the Republican nomination outright and will face Democrat Jeff Whitfield. Former Reps. Linda Koop (R-Dallas) and Mike Schofield (R-Katy) earned rematches against the Democrats who ousted them in 2018. Schofield defeated Angelica Garcia, who was endorsed by Gov. Greg Abbott (R). In open HD138, Lacey Hull won the Republican primary outright and will face the winner of Akilah Bacy and Jennifer Rene Pool.

President Trump received 94% of the Republican primary vote. Joe Biden (32%) edged out Bernie Sanders (30%), followed by Mike Bloomberg (16%) and Elizabeth Warren (12%).

We’ll have more to say about the results, turnout and 2020’s place in history in the coming days and weeks.