Gov. Greg Abbott wins re-election amidst a slew of competitive Texas elections in this year’s midterms.
Republicans won every statewide race, and the Texas Legislature, in the 2022 midterm elections on Nov. 8. The results gave the mandate to govern to the Republicans in the state that have held control of all branches of government since 2003.
“Tonight, Texans sent a very resounding message,” Republican Governor Greg Abbot said during his victory speech. “They want to keep Texas the beacon of opportunity that we have provided over the past eight years.”
Abbott defeated his Democratic opponent, Beto O’Rourke, in the hardest-fought race of the three past gubernatorial campaigns. With nearly all votes counted, Abbott holds an 11 percent lead over O’Rourke.
“We just want a state where people are free enough and healthy enough to be able to pursue their potential and rise to fulfill their true promise,” O’Rourke said. “A state, where we are not defined or divided based on our differences but find the common interests for the common good.”
O’Rourke lost his second statewide race and third overall campaign. His hopes of helping Democrats take back the top office in Texas for the first time since 1995 were dashed with Governor Abbott’s re-election.
“The RED WAVE did not happen,” Mayra Flores, Republican U.S. representative for Texas’ 34th district, said in a tweet.
Though Republicans won every statewide race they did worse than expected in heavily Hispanic south Texas. Despite their recent efforts to make inroads with voters along the border, and forecasts of a large red wave that could carry all three south Texas house seats for the Republican party, Republicans did not get the huge wins in the Rio Grande Valley they had hoped for. Mayra Flores, elected in a June 14 special election, lost re-election against Democrat Vicente Gonzalez.
“There are two million more registered voters this cycle than there were four years ago, so turnout is even further behind what it was in 2018 because of that,” Derek Ryan, an Austin-based pollster, said to Fox 4 News. “It looks like about 5.5 million Texans voted early and a half a million more Republicans than Democrats.”
Turnout in the Gubernatorial race was lackluster, as only around 45.7 percent of registered voters cast a ballot in this year’s midterm elections. In 2018 about 53 percent of registered voters cast a ballot in the Gubernatorial race, and in 2014 an even smaller 33.7 percent of registered voters cast a ballot.
