SD27 open: Adam Hinojosa (R) formally requested a recount of his 659-vote loss to Morgan LaMantia (D) in three of the district’s eight counties. “If honest mistakes were made in the counting, it would only be significant in a place where large numbers of paper or mail-in ballots were cast,” he said in a statement. “These counties are the logical place to double-check.”
Runoff Elections: Early voting is underway in jurisdictions holding Dec. 13 or Dec. 17 runoff elections including Austin (Mayor, D3, D5, D9), Corpus Christi (D1, D2, D3), El Paso (D1, D6, D8) and Laredo (Mayor, D1, D6). Early voting continues for Bryan’s (D5) Dec. 8 runoff election.
Austin: Mayor Steve Adler has declined to endorse between former mayor and former Sen. Kirk Watson (D-Austin) and Rep. Celia Israel (D-Austin), who advanced to a runoff to succeed him.
Legislation: Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R) revealed his priorities for the upcoming session. They included two election-related items:
- Restore voter fraud to a felony
- Ensure timely counting of votes and review of machines.
The latter appears to have been motivated by Harris County’s performance in releasing election results. Keep in mind that Harris Co. had to count more than 1.1M votes – almost as many votes were cast in the entire state of Oklahoma and more than the number of votes cast in 20 states.
Patrick, at another press conference, hinted he might seek re-election in 2026. “Never know,” he said.
