Bexar County voters cast ballots in local, state and federal races in the July 14 runoff election. More than 100,000 registered voters turned out during early voting and on Election Day.
Both Bexar County party chairs were up for grabs. Controversial GOP incumbent Cynthia Brehm faced John Austin, who defeated Brehm by more than 10,000 votes in the runoff. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and other top GOP officials previously called on Brehm to resign after she posted a conspiracy theory about the nature of George Floyd’s death on Facebook.
Democratic incumbent party chair Monica Alcántara, who beat challenger Grace Rose Gonzalez with 52% of the vote, says she hopes to reunite the party, improve messaging at a local level and focus on supporting Democratic candidates ahead of the general election in November.
Tom Rickhoff and Trish DeBerry faced off for the Republican nomination of Precinct 3 County Commissioner, and long-time incumbent Sergio “Chico” Rodriguez faced Rebeca “Becky” Clay-Flores in the Democratic runoff of Precinct 1 County Commissioner. Both female candidates came out on top.
Other local races decided Tuesday night included Precinct 2 Constable (D) — Ino Badillo v. Leticia R. Vazquez — and Precinct 4 Constable (D) — Kathryn Brown v. Mike “Chief” Ramirez.
Congressional Democratic candidate MJ Hegar claimed victory against Texas State Senator Royce West, who had yet to concede the race as of early Wednesday morning. The winner is slated to challenge Republican incumbent John Cornyn for his Senate seat in November.
GOP candidates Tony Gonzales and Raul Reyes are fighting a contentious battle for the chance to defeat Democrat Gina Ortiz Jones to represent Congressional District 23, which spans from San Antonio to El Paso. The race was too close to call as of Wednesday morning.
State Rep. and former San Antonio City Councilman Roland Gutierrez beat Xochil Peña Rodriguez with 52.7% of votes in the runoff for Texas' Senate District 19.
How did COVID-19 affect the election process? What can voters expect in November? Would an expansion of the ability to vote by mail have affected the results?
Guest: Gilbert Garcia, metro columnist and host of Puro Politics Podcast for San Antonio-Express News
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*This interview was recorded on Wednesday, July 15.
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