Poll workers transport ballots Tuesday night from the University Ballroom on the Edinburg campus. The campus was one of the Hidalgo County polling sites on Election Day.
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Alejandra Yañez and Omar Zapata | THE RIDER
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Poll workers transport ballots Tuesday night from the University Ballroom on the Edinburg campus. The campus was one of the Hidalgo County polling sites on Election Day.
In one of the most anticipated presidential races in U.S. history, President Donald J. Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden were neck and neck throughout election night in the battle to become the next commander-in-chief.
As of 10 a.m. today, unofficial results for the presidential election showed Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden ahead of Republican incumbent Donald J. Trump with 69,866,826 votes to 67,233,024. Biden leads with 238 to 213 electoral votes, according to the Associated Press.
In Texas, Trump led Biden 5,802,815 to 5,132,475 votes with 100% of counties reporting.
Libertarian presidential candidate Jo Jorgensen and running mate Jeremy Cohen received 123,845 votes, while Green Party candidate Howie Hawkins and running mate Angela Walker tallied 32,627 votes in Texas.
Voters in Cameron and Hidalgo counties also cast ballots in races ranging from the U.S. presidential election, U.S. senator and U.S. representatives to Texas Supreme Court chief justice and county sheriff.
CAMERON COUNTY
With all 103 precincts reporting, Biden and vice presidential running mate Kamala Harris led Trump and incumbent Mike Pence in Cameron County by a vote of 63,732 to 48,834.
Cameron County Elections Administrator Remi Garza was asked Tuesday night if this was a record turnout.
“Yes,” Garza replied. “Based on what we saw in the early voting and the return ballot by mail, we had already surpassed 2016’s total votes, which was our highest election in the past for number of voters. The turnout percentage, actually, we’re gonna see is gonna be even higher than that one. So, we should break the 50% by the time all the polls come in.”
Democratic nominee Mary “MJ” Hegar was ahead in the Texas U.S. senate race with 61,202 votes. Incumbent John Cornyn (R-Texas) had garnered 46,289 votes; Kerry Douglas McKennon, 1,789; and David B. Collins, 1,427.
Statewide, Republican incumbent John Cornyn won the race with 5,880,414 votes; Hegar, 4,769,263; McKennon, 205,409; and Collins, 79,378.
In the state Supreme Court chief justice race, Democrat Amy Clark Meachum earned 61,960 votes; Republican incumbent Nathan Hecht, 40,500; and Libertarian Mark Ash, 3,031.
Statewide, Hecht won with 5,749,754 votes, followed by Meachum’s 4,776,770 votes to Ash’s 272,032 votes.
Democratic incumbent Filemon B. Vela led the race for District 34 U.S. representative with 68,501 votes in the county. Republican candidate Rey Gonzalez tallied 39,798 votes; Libertarian challenger Anthony Cristo, 1,843; and Independent Chris B. Royal, 1,191.
Districtwide, Vela won with 109,891 votes to Gonzalez’s 83,572 votes. Cristo tallied 3,202 votes and Royal, 2,228.
In the District 27 state senator race, Democratic incumbent Eddie Lucio Jr. led Republican challenger Vanessa Tijerina with 69,485 votes to 39,395 in the county.
Districtwide, Lucio won with 133,398 votes to Tijerina’s 72,403.
Democrat Eric Garza, who defeated longtime incumbent Omar Lucio in the primary runoff, will be the new Cameron County sheriff after defeating Republican John Chambers with 66,566 votes to 41,023.
In the District Clerk race, Democrat Laura Perez-Reyes outpaced Republican Mirla Veronica Deaton by a vote of 66,363 to 40,281.
Asked why there was a record turnout, Garza replied:
“I think people were connected to this election. You know presidential elections always have greater interest in the community, but I think what was happening in the national level filtered down to the local level and people acted on it.”
He said this election resulted in a greater turnout of early voters than in the 2016 election.
“We had a lot more people voting,” Garza said. “During early voting we had a much stronger turnout in early voting this year than in 2016, but [2016] had a stronger election night than we had this year. But everything seems to be working out for the best.”
Asked what his message was to voters, he replied, “We want to thank [voters] for coming out and participating in this democracy that we love.”
BISD board of trustees
Five positions were decided in the Brownsville Independent School District board of trustees election.
Denise Garza won the race for Place 2 with 17,817 votes. Jaime Diez tallied 14,028 votes and Frankie Olivo, 12,089.
In the Place 3 race, Jessica G. Gonzalez triumphed with 19,631 votes. Philip T. Cowen garnered 14,366 votes; Viro Cardenas, 5,215; and Argelia Miller, 4,374.
Daniella Lopez Valdez outpaced her opponent for Place 5 with 28,383 votes. Erasmo Castro received 15,940 votes.
In the Place 6 race, Marisa F. Leal won with 16,490 votes. Minerva Peña tallied 16,480 votes and Joe A. Rodriguez, 10,546.
Eddie Garcia defeated Carlos Elizondo, 26,359 votes to 17,043 in the Place 7 race.
Hidalgo County
With all 255 precincts reporting, Biden led Trump in the county by a vote of 127,391 to 89,925.
In the Texas U.S. Senate race, Democrat Mary “MJ” Hegar garnered 116,222 votes; incumbent John Cornyn, 83,737 votes; Kerry Douglas McKennon, 5,020; and David B. Collins, 3,101.
Amy Clark Meachum tallied 122,674 votes in the Supreme Court chief justice race; incumbent Nathan Hecht, 75,438; and Mark Ash, 5,447.
Incumbent Democrat Vicente Gonzalez led in the U.S. Representative District 15 race with 86,661 votes. Republican Monica De La Cruz garnered 56,297 votes and Libertarian Ross Lynn Leone, 2,542.
Districtwide, Gonzalez won with 115,005 votes; Cruz, 108,466; and Leone, 4,255.
In the U.S. Representative District 28 race, Democratic incumbent Henry Cuellar led with 21,928 votes to Republican Sandra Whitten’s 11,448. Libertarian Bekah Congdon tallied 716 votes.
Districtwide, Cuellar won the race with 89,054 votes; Whitten, 73,634; and Congdon, 3,692.
Incumbent Democrat Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa led in the District 20 state senator race with 81,511 votes, compared to 44,711 votes for Republican opponent Judy Cutright.
Districtwide, Hinojosa won another term with 152,507 votes to Cutright’s 108,866.
In the state representative District 41 race, Democratic incumbent Bobby Guerra defeated Republican John Robert Guerra, with 31,906 votes to 23,235.
In the 464th State District Court judgeship race, Democratic challenger Jose Ramirez triumphed over Republican incumbent Ysmael Fonseca, who was appointed by Gov. Greg Abbott in Aug. 2019, by 124,697 votes to 74,840.
Democratic incumbent Sheriff J.E. “Eddie” Guerra won another term with 139,157 votes. Republican challenger Ezequiel “Zeik” Jurado garnered 65,432 votes.
ECISD board of trustees
Three positions were decided in the Edinburg Consolidated Independent School District board of trustees election.
In the Place 4 race, Luisa Alamia defeated incumbent Robert Peña Jr. by a vote of 18,905 to 17,034.
Incumbent Carmen Gonzalez won the election in the Place 6 race with 20,320 votes. Ramiro Guerra captured 15,013 votes.
In the Place 7 race, Miguel Farias outpaced John J. Rodriguez, 19,858 votes to 15,147.
