State Election Roundup

The Blue Texas that the Democratic Party claimed was possible in the 2014 midterm elections failed to materialize at the polling booth in this year’s races as Republicans once again swept the Texas’ 15 statewide races. The night saw big wins from Republicans John Cornyn (US Senator) , Greg Abbott (Governor) and Dan Patrick (Lt. Governor) in their respective races and proved that a shift to blue or even purple Texas is a lot farther off than Democrats would hope for.

The trend shouldn’t be a shock to most Texans as a Democratic candidate has not won a statewide race in the past 16 years. With the margin of victory shown in a majority of races, a Republican Texas is here to stay for a while longer.

With Rick Perry stepping down as Governor, possibly in search of a run for the presidency, Democrats sensed there was an opening in the race for Texas Governor. Complicating matters, though, was the waning popularity of President Barack Obama.

Greg Abbott managed to gain 59.3 percent of the vote against Wendy Davis, the Democratic candidate for Texas Governor who galvanized young voters with her filibuster against tighter abortion restrictions in the Texas Capitol. Davis only tallied 38.9 percent of votes. The 20 percent margin of victory was higher than the margin in the 2010 elections and was sure to be a splash of cold water on the faces of Democrats.

Adding insult to injury is the loss of Davis’ old seat in the Texas Senate to Republican Konni Burton. The seat was vacated due to Davis’ run for Governor.

Davis’ loss, however, was not the biggest margin of victory of the night. That honor goes to US Senator John Cornyn, who tallied 61.6 percent of the vote against Democrat David Alameel, who ended up with 34.4 percent of the vote.

In the race for Lt. Governor, Democratic contender Leticia Van de Putte gain 38.7 percent of the vote, losing out to Dan Patrick’s 58.1 percent. Like Davis, Van de Putte also came into the national spotlight with the filibuster on the Texas Senate floor, but failed to gain the backing that the Democratic Party was searching for in Texas.

With her loss, rumors have been flying around Van de Putte, claiming she’s eyeing becoming the mayor of her hometown -- San Antonio.

Other victors in the midterm elections included Ken Paxton, who will take over as Attorney General once Greg Abbott is sworn in as the new Governor, Glenn Hegar as State Comptroller, and George P. Bush, son of potential presidential candidate Jeb Bush, as Texas Land Commissioner. Finally, the title of Agriculture Commissioner went to Sid Miller.