Election Day in El Paso for 2022 Texas midterm: Abbott wins reelection as Texas governor over O'Rourke
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
The El Paso Times is here to provide all you need to know about Election Day on Nov. 8.
Tuesday's election will decide whether Republicans stretch their total dominance of Texas politics past two dozen years or whether anyone on the statewide Democratic ticket led by Beto O'Rourke in the governor's race can finally crack the code that has eluded them since before the dawn of the 21st century.
Analysis of data from early voting and findings from the final round of polling suggests Democrats in Texas are facing a stiff headwind in the first midterm election cycle during Democrat Joe Biden's presidency.
The polls are open from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. on Election Day. However, anyone who is in line at a polling place at 7 p.m. and eligible to cast a ballot must be allowed to vote. Voters should remember to bring an acceptable form of identification with them to the polls, such as a driver's license, military ID or passport.
Follow along for live updates and results for key statewide and local races.
Who's on the ballot? Who's on the ballot? Meet the candidates running in the El Paso 2022 midterm election
El Paso City Council races headed to runoffs
With the last round of Election Day tallies, incumbent East Side city Rep. Isabel Salcido has secured her victory in the District 5 race, while all of the other council races are headed for a runoff.
Salcido was leading after early votes were released by the El Paso County Elections Department and held onto a more than 45-point lead throughout the night.
Salcido finished the night with 65% of the vote compared to her closest competitor, Richard Genera, who ended at 18%. Felix J. Munoz finished the night with 17% of the vote.
In the District 6 race, incumbent East Valley city Rep. Claudia Lizette Rodriguez was unable to claim an outright victory, finishing the night with 43% of the vote compared to challenger Art Fierro’s 31%. With neither securing 50% of the vote, the race will be decided in a runoff.
In the District 1 race, Brian Kennedy came in on top with 43%, followed by Analisa Cordova Silverstein, his closest competitor, with 25%. The race will also be decided in a runoff, as votes were split between Kennedy, Silverstein and five other candidates.
City representatives must receive 50% plus 1 of the ballots cast in their races to win and avoid a runoff.
Bettina Olivares led the District 8 race, with 40% of the vote, but contender Chris Canales stayed close behind with 34% of the vote, sending yet another council race to a runoff.
Election Day voters also decided the fate of the city of El Paso's three bond propositions. Proposition A passed with 61% of the vote, while Proposition B narrowly passed with 53%. Proposition C remains at 50-50 for and against.
-Adam Powell
Veronica Escobar announces victory in race for District 16
U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, an El Paso Democrat, declared victory over Republican challenger Irene Armendariz-Jackson in the race for District 16.
"I’m grateful to the volunteers and voters of El Paso who have given me the privilege of serving them, Escobar said Tuesday night in an email."
Escobar was first elected in 2018 and became the first of two Latinas from Texas to serve in Congress.
-Aaron Bedoya
Dan Patrick defeats Mike Collier in lieutenant governor race
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick surged to a comfortable victory over Democrat Mike Collier in Tuesday's election.
Patrick, a conservative Republican and close political ally to former President Donald Trump, won a third four-year term as the powerful presiding officer over the Texas Senate — filling committees, selecting chairmen and deciding which bills get a vote on the Senate floor.
Collier, an accountant and former oil company chief financial officer, made protecting the power grid a focus of his campaign. He also challenged Patrick in 2018 but was defeated by 4.8 points.
With just over half of polling locations reporting Tuesday night, Patrick was leading Collier, 55% to 42.6%.
-Chuck Lindell
Dawn Buckingham declares victory in Texas land commissioner race
Former state senator Dawn Buckingham declared victory Tuesday night in the race for Texas land commissioner, presumably becoming the first woman elected to the position.
Buckingham, an Austin-area eye doctor, has a sizable lead with 57% of the vote over Democratic challenger Jay Kleberg who received 41%, according to the secretary of state’s website which shows with 51% of polling locations reporting.
The land commissioner manages about 13 million acres of state-owned lands and collects the income from oil and gas produced on those lands. That money is then put into the Permanent School Fund, which totals about $48 billion and helps fund Texas’ public schools. The commissioner also oversees the Alamo, the distribution of disaster relief funds and Texas coasts.
The position was the only seat up for grabs in the nonjudicial statewide elections after current commissioner George P. Bush decided against reelection and opted instead to launch an unsuccessful bid for attorney general. With a victory, Buckingham would be the only woman elected to an executive statewide position, aside from Christi Craddick, who sits on the three-person Railroad Commission.
-Skye Seipp
Ken Paxton wins reelection as Texas attorney general
DALLAS (AP) — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton won reelection Tuesday, adding to Republican’s decades of dominance in the state’s top offices despite a slew of legal problems and dysfunction in his agency.
Paxton secured a third term as Texas’ top lawyer, setting up America’s biggest red state to continue mounting conservative legal challenges to the administration of Democratic President Joe Biden on issues including immigration policy, voting and access to abortion.
-Associated Press
County Commissioner, Precinct 4 update
The third round of Election Day totals shows Sergio Coronado continues to have the lead over Blanca Trout for El Paso County Commissioner, Precinct 4.
Coronado was leading after early votes were released by the El Paso County Elections Department and continues to lead throughout the night.
Coronado holds 58% of the votes with Trout at 43%.
-Julia Lucero
Update on El Paso City Council races
With the second round of Election Day vote totals in, incumbent East Side city Rep. Isabel Salcido and East Valley city Rep. Claudia Lizette Rodriguez continue to lead in their reelection bids in District 5 and 6 races.
Salcido and Rodriguez were leading after early votes were released by the El Paso County Elections Department and have continued to lead throughout the night.
Salcido currently holds 65% of the vote compared to her closest competitor, Richard Genera, who is holding fast at 18%.
In the District 6 race, Rodriguez continues to hold a much narrower lead with 43% of the vote compared to challenger Art Fierro’s 33%.
In the District 1 race, Brian Kennedy continues to lead Analisa Cordova Silverstein, his closest competitor, with 43% compared to Silverstein’s 25%. The race will likely be decided in a runoff.
City representatives must receive 50% plus 1 of the ballots cast in their races to win and avoid a runoff.
Bettina Olivares is holding onto a thin lead in the District 8 race, with 40% of the vote. Contenders Chris Canales and Rich Wright continue to stay close behind, with 33% and 26% of the vote respectively.
Election Day voters are also deciding the fate of the city of El Paso's three bond propositions. Proposition A has garnered 60% of the vote, while Proposition B holds a tight 52%. Proposition C remains at 50-50 for and against.
-Adam Powell
El Paso County Commissioner, Precinct 4 update
For El Paso County Commissioner, Precinct 4, Sergio Coronado- D, brought in 18,889 votes and opponent Blanca Trout-R, brought in 13,909.
-Julia Lucero
Greg Abbott wins reelection as Texas governor over Beto O'Rourke
Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott won reelection, besting former Rep. Beto O’Rourke, who had sought to ride what he and other Democrats hoped would be a wave of registered Democratic voters to victory in the long deep-red state, according to multiple reports.
The race drew national attention for O'Rourke, who lost a bid to unseat Republican Sen. Ted Cruz in 2018 and made a brief presidential run in 2020. O'Rourke's name recognition and charisma fueled Democratic hopes that he could win the governor's race.
But as of last week, Abbott was favored to win by nearly 10 points, according to FiveThirtyEight polling averages. And voter registration numbers from the Texas secretary of state’s office showed an increase in voter registrations - but not the massive wave state Democrats had hoped would follow the state’s abortion ban and the Uvalde school massacre.
-USA Today
El Paso City Council Election Day update
With the first Election Day vote totals, incumbent East Side city Rep. Isabel Salcido and East Valley city Rep. Claudia Lizette Rodriguez are both maintaining their leads in District 5 and 6 races.
City representatives must receive 50% plus 1 of the ballots cast in their races to win and avoid a runoff.
Salcido and Rodriguez were leading after early votes were released by the El Paso County Elections Department and continued to lead an hour into counting.
Salcido currently has a 66% lead in the race compared to her closest competitor, Richard Genera, who has 18%, while Rodriguez holds a narrower lead with 42 percentage points compared to challenger Art Fierro’s 33%.
In the District 1 race, Brian Kennedy is leading Analisa Cordova Silverstein, his closest competitor, with 43% compared to Silverstein’s 25%. Still, with seven candidates in the District 1 race, it’s unlikely Kennedy will be able to avoid a May runoff.
Bettina Olivares is leading the District 8 race with 41% of the vote, but contender Chris Canales is only behind by about 9 percentage points, with 32% of the vote. Rich Wright is close behind with 26%.
Election Day voters will also decide the fate of the city of El Paso's three bond propositions. Proposition A and B continue to enjoy voters’ support, while Proposition C continues toward defeat. All three propositions, however, are too close to call now.
-Adam Powell
El Paso County Commissioner, Precinct 4 early vote totals
For El Paso County Commissioner, Precinct 4, Sergio Coronado- D, brought in 18,761 votes and opponent Blanca Trout-R, brought in 13,870.
Click here for live results.
-Julia Lucero
Cesar Blanco takes lead in early votes for Texas Senate District 29
In the race for Texas Senate District 29, Cesar J. Blanco, D, incumbent, takes the lead with 65,935 votes and Derek L. Zubeldia, R with 33,137 votes.
Click here for live results.
-Julia Lucero
Beto O'Rourke takes early lead over Greg Abbott in El Paso County
The unofficial early vote count in El Paso County gave Democratic candidate for governor Beto O'Rourke a comfortable lead over his Republican opponent. According to the first tally released at 7 p.m. MST, in El Paso O'Rourke got 64% of early votes and 34% for Gov. Greg Abbott.
-Martha Pskowski
Rep. Isabel Salcido off to big lead in City Council races, propositions struggling
Early voting numbers show incumbent East Side city Rep. Isabel Salcido and East Valley city Rep. Claudia Lizette Rodriguez heading for reelection in the Districts 5 and 6 races.
City representatives must receive 50% plus 1 of the ballots cast in their races to win.
Salcido and Rodriguez were leading after early votes were released by the El Paso County Elections Department.
Salcido currently has a 66% lead over her closest opponent, Richard Genera, who has 18%, while Rodriguez holds a narrower lead of about 43 percentage points over challenger Art Fierro, 33%.
In the District 1 race, Brian Kennedy is leading Analisa Cordova Silverstein, his closest competitor, with 43%.
Bettina Olivares is leading the District 8 race, with just over 41%, but contender Chris Canales is only behind by about 32%.
Election Day voters will likely decide the fate of the city of El Paso's three bond propositions. Propositions A and B were approved by early voters. Proposition C was defeated. All three propositions, however, are too close to call now.
-Adam Powell
Texas House of Representatives early voting totals
For the Texas House District 75 race, Mary E. Gonzalez- D, leads the way with 11,237 votes and opponent Jonathan Mullins- I, brought in 3,483 votes.
For the Texas House District 74, Eddie Morales- D, incumbent, takes the lead with 3,039 votes and opponent Katherine Parker- R, with 1,580 votes.
-Julia Lucero
El Paso County Judge Samaniego takes lead from early votes
For the El Paso County Judge race, Ricardo Samaniego- D, incumbent, takes the lead with 65,091 votes over opponent Guadalupe Giner- R, with 28,838 votes.
Click here for live results.
-Julia Lucero
US Rep. Veronica Escobar pulls ahead in early votes
For the U.S. Rep. District 16 race, Veronica Escobar - D, incumbent, is ahead of challenger Irene Armendariz-Jackson - R in unofficial early voting results. Escobar got a total of 60,123, with Armendariz-Jackson receiving 33,057 votes.
Click here for live results.
-Aaron Bedoya
El Paso County reach 50k in-person votes
El Paso County reached 50,000 in-person votes cast as of 5:35 p.m, according to the El Paso County Election Department. Voting locations are open until 7:00 p.m.
For a complete list of voting locations in El Paso, click here.
-Aaron Bedoya
Voting centers hit with long wait times
As of 5:45 p.m., various voting locations across the County are seeing 30-plus-minute wait times, sites include Bassett Place, 6101 Gateway West and UTEP, 351 W. University Ave.
For the complete list of voting locations with wait times, click here.
-Aaron Bedoya
El Paso voters continue strong turnout: 44,000
As of 5 p.m., more than 44,000 votes have been cast, according to the El Paso County Elections Department. There are 118 centers open until 7 p.m. for voting. People are reminded to get in line by 7 p.m. to stay in line.
-Maria Cortes Gonzalez
El Paso voters reach 30,000 votes
The El Paso County Elections Department is reporting that 30,000 in-person votes had been cast by 2:11 p.m. Voting wait times are ranging from 10 minutes or less to more than 30 minutes.
-Maria Cortes Gonzalez
Beto O'Rourke will be at Westside polling station this evening
Beto O’Rourke, who is challenging Gov. Greg Abbott, tweeted that he will be at the Mesita Elementary polling station, 3307 N. Stanton St. at 6 p.m. The polling station currently has a 10-minute or less wait time.
He will end the day with his election night party at 6:30 p.m. at the Epic Railyard Event Center, 2201 E. Mills Ave.
O'Rourke started his day in San Antonio and has been making his way through Texas, stopping in Dallas and Houston. Supporters have been rallying around him and taking photos. A few Abbott and former President Donald Trump supporters have turned up and heckled him about his previous political losses.
-Maria Cortes Gonzalez
Voting centers with longest wait times
Most of the voting centers have a 10 minute or less waiting time, according to the El Paso County Votes Website. A few have 10 to 20 minutes wait times this afternoon.
Several voting centers, however, now have a 30-minute or longer wait time for voting. Those currently are Esperanza Acosta Library, 12480 Pebble Hills Boulevard; UTEP-Union Building East, 351 W. University Ave. Cactus Flower Room 102 C.; Officer David Ortiz Recreation Center, 563 N. Carolina Drive; Loma Terrace Elementary, 8200 Ryland Drive; Pebble Hills High School, 14400 Pebble Hills Blvd., the Dorris Van Doren Library, 551 Redd Road; O'Shea Keleher Elementary, 1800 Leroy Bonse Drive, the Ysleta Community Learning Center, 121 Padres Drive, Jane Hambric K-8 School, 3535 Nolan Richardson; Bowling Family YMCA, 5509 Will Ruth Avenue, and the Marty Robbins Recreation Center, 11620 Vista Del Sol Drive.
-Maria Cortes Gonzalez
What to expect when voting
Voters no longer have to vote at a specific location within their precinct. Today, voters can go to any Vote Center to cast their ballot. Use the website or mobile app to find the closest vote center.
Click here for the complete list of voting locations in El Paso County.
-Maria Cortes Gonzalez
El Paso County Elections celebrating 10,000 in-person votes
El Paso County Elections Department is tweeting that 10,000 people have voted in person as of 9:27 a.m. today.
-Maria Cortes Gonzalez
Rep. Veronica Escobar to visit polling stations today
Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-El Paso, is in El Paso and will be visiting polling locations on the Eastside and Westside early in the day. Escobar, who was first elected in 2018 and became the first of two Latinas from Texas to serve in Congress, is running for re-election against Republican challenger Irene Armendariz-Jackson.
In an email to members of the media, her congressional campaign said Escobar won’t be hosting an election night watch party and instead “is encouraging all of our volunteers and supporters to attend Beto O’Rourke’s election night party with us.”
-Lauren Villagran
Early voter turnout in El Paso County
Beto O’Rourke, who is challenging Gov. Greg Abbott, received some encouraging news from voters in his hometown.
El Paso, which historically, leans deep blue during election season, did experience a two-day surge in early voting activity.
Early voting ended on Friday, Nov. 4, and turnout has been low around Texas when compared to 2018, a record year for voting in a mid-term election.
But early voting ended strong in El Paso, on Thursday, Nov. 3., (10,117) and Friday, Nov. 4, (16,336) compared to the last two days of early voting in 2018. (9,156 and 14,905).
In all, however, few voters cast their ballots early in 2022 (102,353) compared to 2018 (139,105). That’s 36,752 fewer votes cast in early voting when O’Rourke nearly upset U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz.
If you are curious, 205,862 voters, or 45% of El Paso’s 457,151 registered voters cast ballots in 2018. This year we have 506,696 registered voters in El Paso County.
On Election Day, Republicans will need a strong turnout in rural and suburban areas of the state. Democrats need bigger turnout in urban areas, political pundits say.
Abbott and O’Rourke will wrap up their get-out-the-vote efforts this morning and afternoon before heading back to their bases to watch the results come in after 7 p.m.
-Aaron Bedoya
Where can I vote in El Paso?
Voting for El Paso County starts at 7 a.m. and runs through 7 p.m. Registered voters can choose any Voting Location to cast their ballot.
Click here for the complete list of voting locations in El Paso County.
-Aaron Bedoya
Will Beto O'Rourke outperform the polls?
Through much of the summer and into the fall, several polls showed a single-digit governor's race with Abbott holding leads of about 5 to 9 percentage points.
But as fall wore on, that consistency fell off. On Oct. 13, a Marist Poll showed the race with a 4-point difference. A week later, the University of Texas Politics Project showed Abbott up by 13.
As the saying goes, the only poll that counts is on Election Day. So we'll find out Tuesday night.
-John Moritz
Beto O'Rourke to spend election night in El Paso
Beto O'Rourke will end his campaign for governor right back where it started almost a year ago: in his hometown of El Paso.
O'Rourke has maintained a marathon pace of campaigning during 2022. Election Day on Tuesday, Nov. 8 will be no exception. He will make stops in San Antonio, Dallas and Houston before arriving in the Sun City in time for the results to roll in. O'Rourke trailed in the polls in the race's final days and is hoping to pull off an upset victory over incumbent Republican Governor Greg Abbott.
O'Rourke is hosting an election night party at the Epic Railyard Event Center, 2201 E Mills Ave., starting at 6:30 p.m.
-Martha Pskowski
Live El Paso election results
Who's on the ballot?
Key statewide races
Key local races
John Mortiz contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Election Day results, updates from key Texas, El Paso races
