Who Won, Who Lost and What Was Too Close to Call in Texas Primaries

Mar 2, 2022
Who Won, Who Lost and What Was Too Close to Call in Texas Primaries

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Morgan Luttrell, a former Navy SEAL who labored for the Vitality Division beneath President Donald J. Trump, seemed to be on observe to win the Republican major within the eighth Congressional District, a Houston-area G.O.P. stronghold the place an incumbent is retiring. As of 1 a.m., he had about 53 p.c of the vote — greater than double the share of the runner-up, Christian Collins, with the one query being whether or not Mr. Luttrell would keep above the 50 p.c mark to keep away from a runoff.

Mr. Luttrell and Mr. Collins didn’t differ a lot on coverage. However Mr. Collins and his supporters — together with Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, Consultant Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and the marketing campaign arm of the right-wing Home Freedom Caucus — sought to border the race as a contest between the Trump base, to which he laid declare, and the Republican “institution,” which he accused Mr. Luttrell of representing.

Monica de la Cruz, a Trump-endorsed candidate, gained the Republican major within the fifteenth Congressional District, which stretches some 250 miles from San Antonio to the Mexican border and is the one aggressive Home seat left in Texas after Republican gerrymandering.

The Democratic major was clearly headed for a runoff, with no candidate breaking even 30 p.c, nevertheless it was not clear who would advance. Ruben Ramirez, a lawyer and Afghanistan veteran, had a reasonably snug lead for the primary spot as of 1 a.m., however a number of rivals have been inside hanging distance of the second spot.

A rematch between Consultant Henry Cuellar, one of the conservative Democrats in Congress, and Jessica Cisneros, a progressive challenger who virtually unseated him in 2020, is just too near name in South Texas’ twenty eighth Congressional District. A runoff appeared more and more doubtless.

Ms. Cisneros — who has been endorsed by Senator Bernie Sanders, Senator Elizabeth Warren, Consultant Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and different progressive leaders — got here inside 4 proportion factors of beating Mr. Cuellar in 2020. This yr, Mr. Cuellar could have been damage by an investigation that concerned an F.B.I. raid of his home in January, the main points of which haven’t been disclosed.

One other progressive candidate, Tannya Benavides, was hovering slightly below 5 p.c of the vote.

Greg Casar, a progressive Democrat, gained decisively within the thirty fifth Congressional District, beating State Consultant Eddie Rodriguez. The Austin-based seat is solidly blue and is being vacated by Consultant Lloyd Doggett, who selected to run in a neighboring district after strains have been redrawn this yr.

Mr. Casar, a member of the Austin Metropolis Council, was backed by Justice Democrats and Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, and his victory speaks to the leftward shift of the Democratic base. He’s affiliated with the Democratic Socialists of America, although the group’s Austin chapter withdrew its endorsement final month after he mentioned he supported navy support to Israel.

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