Wednesday, November 5, 2014: Election Results
The results are in! The fast and furious facts about last night’s election results:
- Texas has a new Governor for the first time in 14 years.
- Texas Republicans continued their winning streak in statewide elections, easily sweeping all 15 statewide elections. After early voting returns, Republican candidates led their Democratic opponents by at least 20 points, and held on to dominating leads.
- Texas continues to have low voter turnout with around 33% of eligible voters voting.
- Two Texas House races ended in upset losses for incumbent Democratic Representatives Mary Ann Perez (HD 144-Houston) and Philip Cortez (HD 117-San Antonio).
- The Texas Senate will have 8 freshman Senators. (A special election will be needed to replace Glenn Hegar, who was elected Comptroller. The Texas House will have at least 24 new members.
- The Texas Senate will have 20 Republican Senators, a Republican Lt. Governor, and 11 Democratic Senators.
- Republicans picked up 3 seats in the Texas House, for a total of 98 Republicans and 52 Democrats. Two seats shy of a Republican super majority.
For a detailed breakdown of votes by race and/or county, check out the Secretary of State’s website here.
Proposition 1
The constitutional amendment authorizing the state to split a portion of oil and gas severance tax revenues between the Rainy Day Fund and the State Highway Fund was overwhelmingly supported and passed with over 80% of the vote. An estimated $1.7 billion will be transferred in the first year and used to fund transportation.
Congressional races
New Faces
CD 4 (northeast Texas bordering Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana; includes Rockwall and Collin counties): John Ratcliffe (R-Rockwall) ran unopposed.
CD 36 (southeast Texas, including parts of Harris, Liberty, Chambers, and Hardin counties): Brian Babin (R-Woodville) defeated Michael Cole (D-Orange).
Hot Races
CD 23 (covers as far west as El Paso and as far east as San Antonio): Will Hurd (R-San Antonio) defeated incumbent Pete Gallego (D-Alpine).
Statewide Races
U.S. Senate
Incumbent John Cornyn (R), with 61.6% of the vote, defeated David Alameel (D), 34.3%.
Governor
Greg Abbott (R), with 59.3% of the vote, defeated Wendy Davis (D), 38.9%.
Lieutenant Governor
Dan Patrick (R), with 58.2% of the vote, defeated Leticia Van de Putte (D), 38.7%. Van de Putte will return to the Senate to serve the remainder of her 4-year term.
Attorney General
Ken Paxton (R), with 58.8% of the vote, defeated Sam Houston (D), 38%.
Comptroller
Glenn Hegar (R), with 58.4% of the vote, defeated Mike Collier (D), 37.7%.
Land Commissioner
George P. Bush (R), with 60.7% of the vote, defeated John Cook (D), 35.3%.
Agriculture Commissioner
Sid Miller (R), with 58.6% of the vote, defeated Jim Hogan (D), 36.8%.
Texas Railroad Commission, Place 2
Ryan Sitton (R), with 58.3% of the vote, defeated Steve Brown (D), 36.5%.
Key Judicial Races
Chief Justice, Texas Supreme Court: Nathan Hecht (R) defeated William Moody (D).
Texas Supreme Court, Place 6: Jeff Brown (R) defeated Larry Meyers (D).
Texas Supreme Court, Place 7: Jeff Boyd (R) defeated Gina Benavides (D).
Chief Justice, 3rd Court of Appeals: Jeff Rose (R) defeated Diane Henson (D).
Texas Senate
New Faces
SD 2: Bob Hall (R-Mesquite) won. No major party opposition.
SD 4: Brandon Creighton (R-Conroe), comes over from the House (elected in an August 2014 special election).
SD 7: Paul Bettencourt (R-Houston) defeated Jim Davis (D-Spring).
SD 8: Van Taylor (R-Plano), another transplant from the House, won. No major party opposition.
SD 16: Don Huffines (R-Dallas) won. No major party opposition.
SD 28: Charles Perry (R-Lubbock), the third former House member to join the Senate (elected in a September 2014 special election)
Hot Races
SD 10: Konni Burton (R-Colleyville), with 52.8% of the vote, defeated Libby Wills (D-Fort Worth), 44.7%.
Texas House
New Faces
HD 1: Gary VanDeaver (R-New Boston) ran unopposed.
HD 4: Stuart Spitzer (R-Kaufman) won. No major party opposition.
HD 10: John Wray (R-Waxahachie) ran unopposed.
HD 15: Mark Keough (R-The Woodlands) ran unopposed.
HD 16: Will Metcalf (R-Conroe) defeated Michael Hayless (D-Montgomery)
HD 53: Andrew Murr (R-Junction) won. No major party opposition.
HD 55: Molly White (R-Belton) ran unopposed.
HD 58: Dewayne Burns (R-Cleburne) defeated Greg Allen Kauffman (D-Crowley).
HD 66: Matt Shaheen (R-McKinney) won. No major party opposition.
HD 76: Cesar Blanco (D-El Paso) won. No major party opposition.
HD 81: Brooks Landgraf (R-Odessa) won. No major party opposition.
HD 83: Dustin Burrows (R-Lubbock) defeated Max Tarbox (D-Lubbock).
HD 90: Ramon Romero (D-Fort Worth) ran unopposed.
Hot Races
HD 21: Dade Phelan (R-Port Neches) defeated Gavin Bruney (D-Nederland).
HD 23: Wayne Faircloth (R-Dickinson) defeated Susan Criss (D-Galveston).
HD 43: Incumbent J.M. Lozano (R-Kingsville) defeated Kim Gonzalez (D-Kingsville).
HD 50: Incumbent Celia Israel (D-Austin) defeated Mike VanDeWalle (R-Austin)
HD 94: Tony Tinderholt (R-Arlington) defeated Cole Ballweg (D-Arlington).
HD 105: Rodney Anderson (R-Grand Prairie) defeated Susan Motley (D-Irving).
HD 107: Incumbent Kenneth Sheets (R-Dallas) defeated Carol Donovan (D-Dallas).
HD 108: Morgan Meyer (R-Dallas) defeated Leigh Bailey (D-Dallas).
HD 113: Incumbent Cindy Burkett (R-Mesquite) defeated Milton Whitley (D-Mesquite).
HD 115: Matt Rinaldi (R-Irving) defeated Paul Stafford (D-Irving).
HD 117: Rick Galindo (R-San Antonio) defeated incumbent Phillip Cortez (D-San Antonio).
HD 129: Dennis Paul (R-Clear Lake) defeated John Gay (D-Webster).
HD 132: Mike Schofield (R-Katy) defeated Luis Lopez (D-Katy).
HD 144: Gilbert Pena (R-Pasadena) defeated incumbent Mary Ann Perez (D-South Houston) by 155 votes.
HD 149: Incumbent Hubert Vo (D-Alief) defeated Al Hoang (R-Alief)
State Board of Education
SBOE-2: Incumbent Ruben Cortez, Jr. (D-Brownsville) won. No major party opposition.
SBOE-3: Incumbent Marisa Perez (D-San Antonio) defeated Dave Mundy (R-Gonzales).
SBOE-4: Incumbent Lawrence Allen (D-Fresno) defeated Dorothy Olmos (R-Houston).
SBOE-7: Incumbent David Bradley (R-Beaumont) defeated Kathy King (D-Port Neches).
SBOE-11: Incumbent Patricia Hardy (R-Fort Worth) defeated Nancy Bean (D-Arlington).
SBOE-12: Incumbent Geraldine “Tincy” Miller (R-Dallas) defeated Lois Parrott (D-Dallas).
SBOE-13: Erika Beltran (D-Fort Worth) won. No major party opposition. Incumbent, Mavis Knight, did not seek re-election.