Politics & Government
Democrats Fall Short In Fight To Turn Texas House Blue
Texas Democrats on Election Day eyed 22 key districts they hoped could help them take control of the Statehouse.
AUSTIN, TX — Democrats fell short on their Election Day goal to turn the Texas Statehouse blue, it appeared on Wednesday with the majority of polling places reporting results.
Still, they held out hope, pointing to narrow losses as signs that Texas can one day elect enough Democrats to hold a majority in the historically Republican stronghold.
"With every election, we're getting one step closer to that change," Ed Espinoza, executive director of Progress Texas, told the Texas Tribune.
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Of the U.S. Senate race between Republican incumbent John Cornyn and Democrat MJ Hegar, Texas Democratic Party Chair Gilberto Hinojosa told the Tribune: "Although we came up short, I am hopeful because we are marching towards victory."
Read more from the Texas Tribune: Democrats' Hopes Of Flipping Texas Again Fall Short As Republicans Dominate The State's 2020 Elections
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Democrats needed only nine more seats to hold a majority in the Texas House of Representatives.
While all 150 of the the Lone Star Statehouse's seats were up for election this year, Democrats identified 22 as "competitive" seats that would either re-elect Democratic incumbents or vote out Republicans on Tuesday.
Nine of the 22 districts in the crosshairs turned out in favor of Beto O'Rourke in his race against incumbent Sen. Ted Cruz in 2018, and five were already held by Democrats hoping to hold off Republican challengers.
All told, 17 districts held by Republicans were identified by Democrats as targets in 2020.
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The number of Democrats in the Texas House of Representatives grew by 12 in 2018, giving Democrats control of 67 of the state's 150 house seats. The remaining 83 were held by Republicans prior to Election Day.
That means Democrats needed to win only nine more seats on Election Day to turn the state's Legislature blue.
Mostly, the districts are suburban or exurban — being located outside the suburban areas of a major city — and are in Blanco, Hays, Collin, Dallas, Denton, Fort Bend, Tarrant, Harris, Bexar, Bell and Lampasas counties, Reform Austin reports.
The state's congressional districts were redrawn in 2013 after federal judges found the districts created by a Republican Legislature in 2011 to have discriminated against minority communities.
They will be redrawn again in 2021 based on data from the 2020 census, and partisanship is likely to play a role in considerations. Should Democrats win the majority of the Statehouse's seats, redistricting would lay the groundwork for future Democratic gains in Texas.
Below are the 22 seats that Democrats are targeting with results as reported by the Texas Secretary of State. Patch will be updating with live results as they come in. This report was updated at 8:30 a.m. with 80% of polling locations reporting.
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- House District 26
- D - L. Sarah DeMerchant: 35,093
- R - Jacey Jetton: 37,608
- House District 28
- D -Elizabeth Markowitz: 52,356
- R - Gary Gates (i): 65,512
- House District 45
- D - Erin Zwiener (i): 57,111
- R - Carrie Isaac: 55,900
- House District 54
- D - Likeithia Williams: 33,391
- R - Brad Buckley (i): 38,440
- House District 64
- D - Angela Brewer: 39,389
- R - Lynn Stucky (i): 47,990
- House District 65
- D - Michelle Beckley (i): 40,416
- R - Kronda Thimesch: 38,065
- House District 66
- D - Sharon Hirsch: 41,210
- R - Matt Shaheen (i): 42,239
- L - Shawn Jones: 1,579
- House District 67
- D - Lorenzo Sanchez: 45,289
- R - Jeff Leach (i): 48,664
- House District 92
- D - Jeff Whitfield: 35,663
- R - Jeff Cason: 38,754
- G - Brody-Andrew Mulligan: 1,482
- House District 93
- D - Lydia Bean: 37,220
- R - Matt Krause (i): 44,953
- House District 94
- D - Alisa Simmons: 33,470
- R - Tony Tinderholt (i): 37,324
- L - Jessica Pallett: 2,321
- House District 96
- D - Joe Drago: 39,502
- R - David Cook: 43,955
- L - Nelson Range: 2,322
- House District 97
- D - Elizabeth Beck: 36,121
- R - Craig Goldman (i): 42,521
- L - Rod Wingo: 1,837
- House District 102
- D - Ana-Maria Ramos (i): 37,141
- R - Linda Koop: 31,758
- House District 108
- D - Joanna Cattanach: 48,468
- R - Morgan Meyer (i): 50,102
- L - Ed Rankin: 2,334
- House District 112
- D - Brandy Chambers: 33,487
- R - Angie Chen Button (i): 33,710
- L - Shane Newsom: 1,714
- House District 121
- D - Celina Montoya: 43,083
- R - Steve Allison (i): 49,626
- House District 126
- D - Natali Hurtado: 33,525
- R - E. Sam Harless (i): 38,519
- House District 132
- D - Gina Calanni (i): 47,328
- R - Mike Schofield: 50,844
- I - Titus Benton (Write-in): 103
- House District 134
- D - Ann Johnson: 55,719
- R - Sarah Davis (i): 50,835
- House District 135
- D - Jon Rosenthal (i): 36,136
- R - Justin Ray: 35,754
- L - Paul Bilyeu: 1,695
- House District 138
- D - Akilah Bacy: 30,291
- R - Lacey Hull: 32,193
Mail-in ballots in Texas must be postmarked by Nov. 3 and must arrive by Nov. 4 to be counted. Preliminary totals may not include mail-in votes.
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