Generally speaking, Texas is a Red state - the Romney/Ryan ticket landed 57 percent of the vote to the Obama/Biden 41 percent, which failed to reach the 44 percent they got in 2008 - but the vote counts in metropolitan areas show strong pockets of Democratic support.
Republican incumbent John Garza was elected during the Republican sweep in the 2010 mid-term elections, but this year former San Antonio City Councilman Philip Cortez ended election night with 53 percent of voter support to win the seat.
Cortez said he pledges to fight any additional cuts to the Texas education system when he takes office in January.
“I will fight them tooth and nail because those dollars are for our children and for the resources that teachers need to ensure we are properly educating the future leaders of this great state of Texas,” Cortez said.
Bexar County Sheriff-Elect Susan Pamerleau shakes hands with a supporter during Election Night 2012 at the Republican Party Headquarters in Bexar County.
Bexar County will have a new sheriff after the Republican challenger unseated Democratic incumbent Amadeo Ortiz.
Bexar County Sheriff-Elect Susan Pamerleau had a smile from ear to ear with an early vote lead of nine percent when the polls closed on election night. In the end, Pamerleau had won by a slim margin with 51 percent.
At the Republican watch party, Pamerleau dropped hints that she is intent on changing some of the inner workings of the sheriff’s department.
The Tea Party-supported doctor beat Democratic opponent John Courage, a San Antonio teacher, with just over 65 percent of the vote in a race that wasn't close from the time early voting numbers were posted.
Congressman Lloyd Doggett will be headed back to the nation’s Capital, but this time to represent an entirely new district. The 2010 Census birthed Congressional District 35 due to the rise in the Hispanic population, and on election night, Doggett proved to be the long-lasting representative he has come to be known for.
Doggett expressed some disappointment in moving on from a district that spanned the Rio Grande Valley to Bastrop.
With nearly 64 percent of the votes in Congressional District 20, Joaquín Castro won the seat being vacated by the long-serving Charlie Gonzalez who is retiring at the end of this term.
San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro introduced his brother, Joaquín as a newly-elected congressman, saying that he will be a breath of fresh air in Washington, D.C.
Early returns had Pre-K 4 SA in a dead heat in early voting numbers, but votes supporting the measure gained ground as the election-day results were tallied.
The early education tax increase passed with 53 percent of the vote; early vote totals showed votes supporting the proposition only 87 votes ahead of votes opposing.
The crowd at the Castro election headquarters was jubilant as Mayor Julián Castro said early in the evening that he believed the measure would pass, “and I think San Antonians have made the right decision tonight.”
Ted Cruz, a Harvard-educated lawyer and Tea Party icon, easily won the U.S. Senate race Tuesday night, becoming the first Hispanic from Texas to land the
(Update: 12:10 a.m.) About 95 percent of precincts have been counted and Campbell is maintaining 66 percent of the vote to Courage's 34 percent; safe to say that this race is over.
(Update: 10:30 p.m.) With 72 percent of the vote counted, Campbell has 66 percent of the vote and looks to have this race easily won.
(Update: 8:50 p.m.) Texas Secretary of State's Office showing Campbell with 67 percent of the vote, effectively holding on to her commanding lead in early voting.
(Update: 12:00 a.m) Nearly 90 percent of the votes counted now and Doggett looks to be the winner still holding about 63 percent of the vote.
(Update: 10:30 p.m.) With 66 percent of the vote now counted, Doggett is maintaining 63 percent of the vote.
(Update: 9:00 p.m.) Texas Secretary of State's Office showing Doggett with about 63 percent of the vote, carrying the lead out of early voting, where he led by a nearly two to one margin.