By Public Radio Staff
On Tuesday, voters in West Texas weighed in on a handful of state and congressional races, including a dramatic race for Congressional District 23 that's still unresolved.
Below you’ll find primary results for State Senate District 19. We’re also tracking the results for the Republican primary race for Congressional District 23. For additional results on statewide races, click here.
U.S. Senate
Former Air Force pilot MJ Hegar claimed victory in the Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate against state Sen. Royce West.
“I am humbled by the support we have received from all across the state, and am confident we have a decisive victory,” Hegar said in a statement Tuesday night before the race was called. “Together, we are mounting a Texas-sized winning campaign that will take down Senator Cornyn and deliver real results on health care, racial justice, economic opportunity, climate change, immigration, and gun violence.”
Across West Texas counties, voters overwhelmingly voted for Hegar over West. Hegar is set to challenge Republican incumbent John Cornyn in the fall.
Congressional District 23
In the Republican runoff election for U.S. House District 23, Tony Gonzales holds the slimmest of leads — just seven votes ahead of Raul Reyes. The race remains too close to call, with an unknown number of mail-in ballots still to be counted today.
The primary saw some eleventh hour drama when President Donald Trump endorsed Gonzales, while days earlier Senator Ted Cruz endorsed Reyes.
Republican voters in the tri-county were narrowly split between the two candidates. In Presidio and Brewster Counties, Reyes received a modest majority of the votes, while Jeff Davis County voters turned out for Gonzales. Whoever wins the runoff will face Democrat Gina Ortiz Jones, who narrowly lost the race to GOP incumbent Will Hurd in 2018. Hurd is retiring when his current term ends.
Senate District 19
In the Democratic primary for Texas Senate District 19, Roland Gutierrez has defeated Xochil Peña Rodriguez by about five points with more mail-in ballots left to count.
State Senate District 19 covers all of Brewster County and stretches out toward San Antonio. Gutierrez now faces incumbent GOP state senator Pete Flores in the general election. For over a 100 years the Texas senate seat was held by democrats but flipped in 2018 when Flores won it in a special election. Locally, Rodriguez did carry Brewster County by a wide margin. But Brewster county votes make up a small portion of the district.
Railroad Commissioner
In the Democratic primary for the Railroad Commissioner, Dallas attorney Crysta Castañeda defeated former state representative Robert Alonzo. She’s running for one of three seats on the Railroad Commission. She will face Republican James Wright in November. The railroad commission oversees the oil and gas industry in the state.
Midland Special Election: Prop A
A special sales tax election in Midland to increase local funding for Midland Memorial Hospital. The unofficial results show Proposition A passed 7,135 votes in favor, increasing the local sales tax by 0.25% which could generate up to $28 million annually.
The local hospital district has stated it needs the increased funding to supplement cuts to federal funding that will take place over the next four years. Even with millions of more dollars going to Midland Memorial from local sales, the hospital estimates a $10 million shortfall.
The 0.25% tax increase will go towards community outreach initiatives and behavioral healthcare services, according to Midland Memorial officials.