Susan Wright (R) and Rep. Jake Ellzey (R-Waxahacie) advanced to a runoff out of a 23-candidate field to fill the unexpired term of the late U.S. Rep. Ron Wright (R-Arlington). Wright came in first with 19% of the vote, followed by Ellzey (13.85%), Democrat Jana Lynne Sanchez (13.39%), Republican Brian Harrison (10.8%) and Democrat Shawn Lassiter (8.9%).
Sanchez finished 354 votes behind Ellzey. To put that in perspective, the three lowest-finishing Democrats collectively received 625 votes, and six other Democrats received at least 1K votes. Eleven Republican candidates split 62% of the vote, and 10 Democrats combined for 37% of the vote. That split is closer to how the district voted in 2014 than in more recent years:
- 2020 general: Republicans 53%, Democrats 44%
- 2018 general: Republicans 53%, Democrats 45%
- 2016 general: Republicans 58%. Democrats 39%
- 2014 general: Republicans 61%, Democrats 36%
Democratic candidates combined for 46% of the vote in Tarrant Co. but only 21% in Ellis Co. and 19% in Navarro Co.
Two other candidates received at least 5% of the vote: Republican John Anthony Castro (5.5%) and Democrat Tammy Allison (5.4%). Democrat Lydia Bean, who received several labor union endorsements, finished 8th with 4% of the vote. Michael Wood (R), who campaigned as a “Never Trump” candidate, finished 9th with just over 3% of the vote. Former wrestler and Nevada congressional candidate Dan Rodimer (R) finished 11th with less than 3% of the vote.
President Trump’s late endorsement of Wright appears to have vaulted her to first place. She and Ellzey were virtually tied in early voting with 7K votes each. She received nearly 8K votes on Election Day compared to less than 4K for Ellzey. Wright was the only top-five candidate to receive more votes on Election Day than in early voting.
Local Elections
As of press time (1 a.m. CT), we believe that all votes have been counted in the races highlighted below (and above). We will revise this report if there are any significant changes.
Dallas: Council incumbents Chad West (52%), Casey Thomas II (82%), Jaime Resendez (52%), Omar Narvaez (56%), Tennell Atkins (74%), Paula Blackmon (63%) and Adam McGough (91%) were re-elected. Yolanda Williams, who was endorsed by Mayor Eric Johnson, finished a distant third behind Resendez with 19% of the vote. John Botefuhr, Johnson’s preferred but not endorsed candidate challenging Blackmon, finished third with 17% of the vote.
Incumbent Carolyn King Arnold (47%) was forced into a runoff by Maxie Johnson (37%). Incumbent Adam Bazaldua (39%) was forced into a runoff by former council member Kevin Felder (15%). Donald Parish, who was endorsed Johnson, missed the runoff by 25 votes. Incumbent David Blewett (32%) was forced into a runoff by Paul Ridley (46%).
Cara Mendelsohn (81%) won an open seat. Jesse Moreno (39%) will face Sana Syed (25%) in an open seat runoff, as will Barry Wernick (38%) and Jaynie Schultz (36%). Leland Burk (43%) will face Gay Donnell Willis (42%) for the last open seat.
Fort Worth: Tarrant Co. Democratic Party chair Deborah Peoples (34%) and Mattie Parker (31%) are headed to a runoff, easily outpacing council members Brian Byrd (15%) and Ann Zadeh (9%), to succeed Mayor Betsy Price, who did not seek re-election. Council members Carlos Flores (65%), Cary Moon (51%) and Gyna Bivens (63%) were re-elected, and Michael Crain (71%) won an open seat. Incumbent Jungus Jordan (44%) was forced into a runoff by Jared Williams (34%), and incumbent Kelly Allen Gray (44%) will meet Chris Nettles (46%) in a runoff. Open seat runoffs feature Zeb Pent (33%) versus Leonard Firestone (28%) and Elizabeth Beck (43%) versus Fernando Peralta (13%).
San Antonio: Mayor Ron Nirenberg easily turned away former council member Greg Brockhouse, 62%-31%, whom Nirenberg defeated in a 2019 runoff, 51%-49%. Incumbents Adriana Rocha Garcia (70%), Melissa Cabello Havrda (55%), Ana Sandoval (71%), Manny Palaez (59%) and Clayton Perry (54%) were re-elected.
Council member Roberto Treviño (45%) was forced into a runoff by Mario Bravo (34%). Council member Jada Andrews-Sullivan (17%) finished ahead of 10 candidates to make a runoff with challenger Jalen McKee-Rodriguez (26%). Council member John Courage (47%) was forced into a runoff by 2019 opponent Patrick Von Dohlen (36%). Former Rep. Tomas Uresti (15%) made a runoff with Phyllis Viagran (22%) for an open seat being vacated by Viagran’s sister, Rebecca, who is term-limited. Teri Castillo (31%) and Rudy Lopez (15%) advanced to a runoff for an open seat.
Abilene: Incumbent council member Shane Price (76%) was re-elected, and Lynn Beard (83%) won an open seat.
Arlington: Jim Ross (47%) and former council member Michael Glaspie (21%) will go to a runoff to succeed Mayor Jeff Williams, who is term-limited. Former council member Marvin Sutton came in third with 15%. Council members Andrew Piel (69%) and Barbara Odom-Wesley (76%) were re-elected, and Rebecca Boxall (62%) won an open seat. Diana Saleh (32.2%) and Nikkie Hunter (31.5%) advanced to a runoff for an open seat.
Amarillo: Mayor Ginger Nelson (54%) and council members Freda Powell (57%), Eddy Sauer (57%) and Howard Smith (50.5%) were re-elected. Cole Stanley (51%) won an open seat.
Austin: Voters approved a proposition reinstating a homeless camping ban (57%-43%), establish ranked-choice voting (59%-41%) and move the mayoral election to presidential years (67%-33%). Voters rejected proposals to move to a strong-mayor form of government (86%-14%), create an 11th council district (57%-43%) and permit citizens to direct public dollars to local candidates (57%-43%).
Beaumont: The race to succeed Mayor Becky Ames will go to a runoff between Roy West (35%) and council member Robin Mouton (25%). At-large council member W.L. Pate Jr. (11%) finished a distant fourth. Council members Mike Getz (60%), Audwin Samuel (68%) and Taylor Neild (100%) were re-elected. Chris Durio (56%) won the open seat vacated by Mouton. A.J. Turner (43%) claimed an open at-large seat and council member Randy Feldschau (29%) was re-elected to an at-large seat.
Bedford: Mayor Michael Boyter (84%) and council member Dan Cogan (54%) were re-elected. Cindy Almendarez (56%) won an open seat.
Brownsville: At-large incumbent Rose Gowen (53%) was re-elected. Council member Ben Neece (35%) was forced into a runoff by Pedro Cardenas (40%). Roy de los Santos (45%) and Jessica Puente Bradshaw (38%) advance to a runoff for an open seat.
Coppell: Council member Wes Mays (68%) won an open mayoral election. Incumbent council member Brianna Hinojosa-Smith (64%) was re-elected. Kevin Levels (76%) won an open seat.
Denton: All three council incumbents were defeated. Challenger Vicki Byrd ousted Birdia Johnson, 51%-35%. Brian Beck defeated incumbent Connie Baker, 60%-34%. Incumbent John Ryan lost to Alison Maguire-Powell, 53%-47%.
Flower Mound: Derek France (41%) and Itamar Gelbman (24%) advanced to a runoff to become the city’s next mayor.
Garland: Mayor Scott LeMay (77%) was re-elected.
Grapevine: Mayor William D. Tate (81%) was easily elected to a 12th consecutive term. Tate has served as mayor since 1988 after previously serving from 1973 to 1985.
Haltom City: Mayor An Truong (79%) was re-elected to a second term.
Lewisville: Council member T.J. Gilmore (53%) won an open mayoral race.
Keller: Council member Mitch Holmes lost to Shannon Dubberly, 53%-47%. Incumbent Sean Hicks (56%) was re-elected.
Longview: Council member Nona Snoddy (76%) was re-elected and Temple Carpenter (69%) won an open council seat.
Lubbock: Voters approved a proposition making Lubbock a “sanctuary city for the unborn,” 62%-37%.
McAllen: Runoffs will be needed for mayor and every council seat on the ballot. The race to succeed Mayor Jim Darling will be determined in a runoff between council members Javier Villalobos (26%) and Veronica Whitacre (24%), who edged out Michael Fallek (23%) by 112 votes. Incumbent council member Omar Quintanilla (45%) was forced into a runoff by Themla Tamez (28%), who made the runoff by 6 votes over Mario Reyna. The open seats will be settled by Antonio Aguirre Jr. (41%) versus Lucia Thompson (34%) and Jose Cabeza De Vaca (48%) and Lawrence Esparza (26%).
McKinney: Mayor George Fuller (67%) was re-elected.
Nacogdoches: Challenger Kathleen Belanger defeated incumbent council member Garth Hinze, 57%-43%. Council member Amelia Fischer (76%) was re-elected.
Plano: John Muns defeated council member Lily Bao (53%-43%) to become the city’s next mayor. Council members Anthony Ricciardelli (53%) and Rick Smith (53%) were re-elected. Council member Kayci Prince (39%) was forced into a runoff with Justin Adcock (42%). Julie Holmer (34%) and Chris Robertson (32%) will face each other in a runoff for Bao’s open seat.
San Angelo: Mayor Brenda Gunter (74%) was re-elected, and so were council members Tom Thompson (69%) and Lucy Gonzales (100%). Council member Billie DeWitt was defeated by Larry Miller, 56%-40%.
San Juan: Mayor Mario Garza (45%) was forced into a runoff by council member Jesse Ramirez (30%). Council member Coach Guajardo (38%) was forced into a runoff by R.C. Flores (39%), and a runoff between Nickie Ybarra (39%) and Dina Santillán (33%) will decide an open seat.
Southlake: Council member John Huffman defeated former HD98 Democratic nominee Debra Edmondson, 71%-29%, to become the city’s next mayor. Randy Robbins (70%) and Amy Torres-Lepp (70%) won open council seats.
Tyler: Council members Shirley McKellar (65%) and Bob Westbrook (80%) were re-elected. Stuart Hene (77%) won an open council seat.
©2021 Texas Election Source LLC
