The midterm elections were held yesterday in Texas. There was a lot of media coverage regarding the increase in voter registrations this year, but in the end only 46% of registered voters participated in the election. 8 million Texans voted in the midterm, down almost 400,000 from the 2018 midterm. Given built-in majorities created during the redistricting process, without an increase in voter turnout, there were no surprises last night. Republicans swept statewide offices for the 13^th consecutive election cycle, kept their majorities in both the Texas House and Senate and picked up an additional seat in each chamber. 

Texas House Races

Going into to last night’s election, the makeup of the Texas House was 85 Republicans and 65 Democrats. There were 92 Texas House races on the ballot yesterday, but only five were highly competitive races. 

Republicans gained three seats: 

• HD37, which is held by Rep. Alex Dominguez (D-Brownsville), was won by Republican Janie Lopez, 52%-48%. Dominguez unsuccessfully sought a Senate seat.
• HD52, which is held by Rep. James Talarico (D-Round Rock), was won by Republican Caroline Harris, 56%-44%. Talarico won in nearby HD50.
• HD65, which is held by Rep. Michelle Beckley (D-Carrollton), was won by Republican Kronda Thimesch, 60%-40%. Beckley unsuccessfully ran for statewide office.

Democrats captured two Republican-held seats:

• HD70, which is held by Rep. Scott Sanford (R-McKinney), was narrowly won by Democrat Mihaela Plesa, 50.7%-49.3%, over Jamee Jolly (R). Sanford did not seek re-election.
• HD92, which is held by Rep. Jeff Cason (R-Bedford), was won as expected by Salman Bhojani (D), 58%-42%. Cason did not seek re-election.

The final results left Republicans picking up one seat, setting the make-up for the Texas House next session as 86 Republicans and 64 Democrats. No incumbent lost his or her election. There will be 28 legislators who will serve for the first time in the Texas House in 2023.

Texas Senate Races

In the Senate, no incumbent lost an election, but the Republicans picked up a seat in Tarrant County after changes in the redistricting process forced Democratic Senator Powell not to seek re-election in Senate District 9. 

All eyes were on South Texas Senate District 27 to replace retiring Senator Eddie Lucio Jr. (D-Brownsville). Democrat Morgan LaMantia defeated Republican Adam Hinojosa, 50.2%-49.8%, in a race that will likely go to a recount.

Next session, there will be 19 Republican and 12 Democratic Senators. Five Senators will be completely new to the chamber in January. 

Statewide Elections

Governor’s Race

Governor Abbott easily won a third term as governor of Texas on Tuesday, defeating Democratic challenger Beto O’Rourke by double digits. O’Rourke underperformed his 2018 campaign in each of the 15 counties with the most registered voters, leaving him unable to make up the difference in rural counties. 

In Governor Abbott’s victory speech last night, he promised to use the state’s budget surplus for property tax reductions, to make education improvements, to secure the U.S.-Mexico border and to defend the oil and gas industry.

Lt. Governor’s Race

In a rematch from 2018, Lt. Governor Dan Patrick again easily defeated Democratic candidate Mike Collier with over 54% of the vote. The Lt. Governor stated that his priorities for the session will be criminal justice reform, property tax reduction and fixing the power grid. 

Attorney General’s Race

While some saw this race as “one to watch,” Attorney General Ken Paxton easily defeated Democratic challenger Rochelle Garza. The political insiders watched this race closely as General Paxton is still under indictment for securities fraud, but the AG’s race was again not impacted by his personal legal troubles.

Land Commissioner

Senator Dawn Buckingham (R, Lakeway) will be the state’s Land Commissioner after defeating Democrat Jay Kleberg. This was an open race after current Land Commissioner George P. Bush opted to not to run for this position again. 

Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller and Comptroller Glenn Hegar also easily won their elections. 

Congress

Texas picked up two new Congressional seats during the redistricting process increasing our state’s representation to 38 seats. One incumbent, U.S. Representative Mayra Flores (R-Los Indios,) was defeated in TX-34. Rep. Flores won this seat in a special election held over the summer but could not retain the Democrat-leaning district during the mid-term elections. Texas will get seven new representatives in Congress in January. The split will go from 24 Republicans and 12 Democrats before redistricting, to 25 Republicans and 13 Democrats in January.