Democrat Gina Ortiz Jones conceded Monday to her Republican opponent Will Hurd in the race for the 23rd Congressional District of Texas, which stretches from San Antonio to El Paso.
“While we came up short this time, we ran a race of which we can be proud," said Ortiz Jones in a news release. "I remain committed to serving my community and country, and I wish Will Hurd the courage to fight for TX-23 in the way in which our district deserves.”
The race between Jones and Hurd did not definitively end on election night and appeared to be headed for a recount.
Under Texas law, candidates may request a recount if the difference between the number of votes received by the petitioner and the number of votes received by the person elected is less than 10 percent of the votes received by the person elected.
Results initially showed Jones trailing Hurd by 689 votes — a margin that, Jones argued, made the race too close to call.
Though Jones did not opt for a formal recount, she pushed to make sure all provisional, military, and mail-in ballots had been accounted for. She also encouraged her supporters who voted with provisional ballots to return to their election administrators to make sure their votes had been counted to help overcome Hurd's more than 1,000 vote lead after provisional votes were counted.
Last week, Jones sued the Bexar County election administrator to make public a list of provisional ballots, and asked for more time to see them validated, but a judge denied the extension.
After election results were canvassed in Medina County Monday morning and across the district in preceding days, Jones issued the following statement:
“Our campaign was based on the belief that everyone is equal — equally deserving to be heard at the ballot box and served in our communities. We worked hard to make this a reality, understanding this is the only path toward the more perfect union that our founders envisioned."
After Jones' concession, Hurd released this statement:
"I want to thank my opponent and her supporters for engaging in the democratic process. To thrive, our democracy needs a vigorous competition of ideas, and whether you voted for me or not, I will need your help," he said.
"To the residents of TX-23, thank you for giving me something that hasn't happened in over a decade, the privilege of representing you for a third term. I will continue fighting for you every day in Congress."
Carson Frame can be reached at carson@tpr.org or on Twitter @carson_frame
