West Texans went to the polls Tuesday to cast their ballots for state and local leaders and make their voices heard on prominent issues.

Below, you’ll find the final tallies for notable local races across the Big Bend region and the Permian Basin — last updated at 7:15 am on Nov. 9, 2022.

For details on early voting and other Election Night updates, you can go to our Twitter page. For results on the governor's, attorney general's and other statewide elections,  click here.

Editor's Note: An asterisk by a name indicates the candidate is the incumbent in the election. Bold indicates that the candidate has won their race. All results are unofficial until certified by the state. State-level results are according to the Texas Secretary of State's website.

Local Races

Federal and State Level Elections

On Tuesday, Big Bend residents elected incumbents over challengers to represent them in Congress and the state legislature.

Republican Congressman Tony Gonzales easily fended off Democrat John Lira and Independent Frank Lopez Jr. in the race for Congressional District 23, which stretches from El Paso to San Antonio, including the Big Bend region. Gonzales received 116,044 votes to Lira’s 80,453 and Lopez Jr.'s 11,125.

On the state level, Democratic state Sen. César Blanco has defended his seat in the Texas Senate. Republican Derek Zubeldia, who hoped to replace Blanco in representing Texas Senate District 29, received 62,129 votes to Blanco’s 110,282.

In the race for Texas House District 74, incumbent Democrat Eddie Morales defeated Republican Katherine Parker to represent communities in the Big Bend area and parts of the Rio Grande Valley by a vote of 20,978 to 16,671.

Brewster County

Republican Greg Henington has been elected as Brewster County Judge, the county's top official. Voters favored Henington over Democrat Oscar Cobos by a vote of 2,257 to 1,463.

The result means the county's top seat will switch hands from Democrat to Republican control, after the county's incumbent county judge — Democrat Eleazar Cano — decided to not seek reelection.

In south Brewster County, Terlingua-area county commissioner Sara Allen Colando has narrowly held onto her seat against Republican challenger Mark Chiles by less than 20 votes.

Final vote totals show Colando received 568 votes to Chiles' 554. There was no immediate word if Chiles would seek a recount in the race.

Jeff Davis County

Republicans gained ground in Jeff Davis County, ousting two incumbent Democratic county commissioners in races that came down to just a few votes.

In the Precinct 2 County Commissioner's race, incumbent Democrat Todd Jagger was defeated by Republican Roy Hurley, by a vote of 105 to 115.

In the Precinct 4 County Commissioner's race, incumbent Democrat Albert Miller was defeated by Republican Royce Laskoskie, by a vote of 139 to 144.

There was no word if either of the defeated candidates would request a recount.

Midland County

Lori Blong has won Midlanders' vote to be the city’s next mayor, beating our her main opponent Jerry Morales, by more than 2,000 votes. Blong has served on the Midland city council for the last three years and according to the Midland Reporter Telegram, she will be the first woman to lead the city as Mayor.

Amy Stretcher Burkes will join the Midland City Council, representing District 4, which covers much of west Midland. Stretcher Burkes beat Jim Gerety for the seat by over a thousand votes. She will replace Lori Blong on the council.

Midland Independent School District Board of Trustees will welcome two new trustees — and welcome back an incumbent.

In Midland ISD’s District 3 race, Tommy Bishop fended off Reagan Hignojos and held on to his school board seat, winning 53 percent of the vote.

Brandon Hodges handily beat incumbent John Trischitti in the District 5 school board election. Over 4,300 Midlanders cast their ballots for Hodges, who won with 66 percent of the vote.

And finally, former teacher Sara Burelson has won District 6’s school board election. She got nearly 5,000 votes, soundly defeating her opponent Carie McNeil. Burelson will replace current school board member Rick Davis, who had previously decided not to run for reelection.

Presidio County

Incumbent Presidio County Judge Cinderela Guevara — who switched from being a Democrat to a Republican this year — has been handily defeated by her Democratic challenger Jose "Joe" Portillo. Final vote totals show Portillo defeating Guevara by a vote of 1,228 to 608.

Guevara's reelection bid was part of a broader trend of the Texas GOP trying to make inroads in historically Democratic border-area strongholds. She previously told Marfa Public Radio that she became a Republican because of her opposition to abortion.

In a statement to Marfa Public Radio, Portillo said he is "humbled" by the outcome and "excited to bring together the county as a whole and work together to get us to the next level."

Democrat David Beebe has won election to the Precinct 4 County Commissioner seat, beating Republican Garey Wilbanks by a vote of 570 to 210.

Incumbent County Treasurer Frances Garcia — a Democrat — has held onto her seat after beating Republican Challenger David Chavez by a vote of 1,050 to 674.

Finally, voters in Marfa have rejected a proposed $57 million school bond that district officials had hoped to put toward construction of a new school campus. The proposed bond was defeated by a final vote of 507 against and 280 for. That's according to Marfa ISD Superintendent Oscar Aguero.

In a statement, Aguero said "the community has spoken."

"It is not the message we had hoped for, but you have our pledge that Marfa ISD will continue to provide a high quality education for our students," he said. "Our facility challenges will not disappear, and the Board of Trustees and I will reconvene and come up with another plan to address these issues."

Editor's note: David Beebe is a volunteer DJ at Marfa Public Radio.