Tuesday's election was historic and generational, both in Texas and across the country. About 9.8 million Texans voted, a state record for a midterm. Travis County voters set a local midterm record as well: 444,690 ballots were cast during early voting alone. In total, 552,560 ballots were cast out of 948,575 registered voters in Travis County (58.25%). Nationally, Democrats won control of both the U.S. House and Senate. In Texas, Democrats won every statewide executive office on the ballot, the party’s first statewide wins since 1994. That includes electing James Talarico as the state’s first Democratic U.S. Senator since 1988, the year I was born. Democrats have also won control of the Texas House for the first time since 2003. Republicans kept control of the Texas Senate and a majority on the Texas Supreme Court. In Central Texas, Democrats flipped the Williamson County Commissioners Court and expanded their majority in Hays County, while Republicans held narrower majorities in Caldwell and Bastrop counties. What This Means for REALTORS®New leaders will take office at nearly every level of government, from Austin City Hall to county commissioners courts across Central Texas to the Texas Capitol. That’s a real opportunity for REALTORS® to deepen the relationships we’ve built and start new ones where needed, and it all starts today. Housing affordability, property taxes, infrastructure, and property rights are bipartisan issues, and they were top of mind for voters this year. The officials elected Tuesday will shape those issues for years to come, and REALTORS® should be part of that conversation from the start. It’s an exciting time to get involved. If you’ve been looking for a way to plug into ABoR Advocacy, now is the time. ABoR’s volunteer call closes this Friday, Nov. 6. Sign up today by submitting an application through your ABoR Member Portal. Below is an initial summary of results for city, county, state, and federal races in Central Texas. All results are unofficial until canvassed. |
Austin City Council The Austin City Council races were hotly contested, with outside groups active in every district. Only two races were decided outright, and both went to ABoR-endorsed candidates. Council Member Zohaib "Zo" Qadri won reelection in District 9. Council Member-elect Selena Xie won the open District 8 seat, succeeding Council Member Paige Ellis. Three races, two of them with ABoR-endorsed incumbents, are headed to a runoff: District 1 | Amber Goodwin faces Misael Ramos. They are the top two finishers in a six-candidate field to succeed term-limited Council Member Natasha Harper-Madison. District 3 | Council Member José Velásquez faces Neha Shah. District 5 | Council Member Ryan Alter faces David Weinberg. The runoff election will be held on Saturday, Dec. 12. |
City of Austin Bonds: Propositions A & B Austin voters approved $295 million in bonds across two propositions: Proposition A, the $260 million Parks Bond, won roughly 61% of the vote. It funds pool renovations, park buildings, trails, and new parkland. Proposition B, the $35 million Library Bond, won roughly 60% of the vote. It funds the Hampton Branch at Oak Hill expansion and a new library and public health center in Colony Park. The city estimates the two bonds together will cost the average Austin homeowner about $41.60 more per year once issued. ABoR will watch closely as the bonds move toward implementation, and we will keep members informed on the impact to homeowners. |
City of Austin Charter Amendments Austin voters rejected Proposition I, 54.93% to 45.07%. It was the petition-initiated charter amendment that would have required a recurring independent citywide audit. The city's existing audit ordinance, adopted by Council earlier this year, remains in place. Of the seven charter amendments placed on the ballot by the city, voters approved five: Prop C | Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission Prop F | Campaign finance limits Prop G | Moves petition-driven elections to November of even-numbered years Prop H | Gives City Council, rather than the City Manager, authority to appoint and remove the City Attorney Prop J | Charter language corrections Voters rejected Props D and E, which would have changed charter requirements on how often Council meets and how it sets its rules. |
Pflugerville ISD: Austin Community College Annexation Pflugerville ISD's Proposition A failed, with about 62% of voters against it in preliminary results. It would have annexed the district's remaining territory into the Austin Community College taxing district at $0.1034 per $100 valuation. |
Travis County & Regional Results In Travis County, ABoR-endorsed candidate George Morales III was officially elected Commissioner, Precinct 4 (he has been serving as Precinct 4 Commissioner since June after Margaret Gomez retired). County Judge Andy Brown and Commissioner Brigid Shea (Precinct 2) were reelected. Across the region: Williamson County | Democrats take control of the Williamson County Commissioners Court. Heather Jefts (D) won her election over incumbent Steve Snell (R) for County Judge. David McDonald (R) won Commissioner, Precinct 2 in an unopposed race, succeeding Commissioner Cynthia Long. Harmon Rhea (D) won the seat for Precinct 4, defeating incumbent Russ Boles (R). Hays County | Democrats expand their majority on the Hays County Commissioners Court. Michelle Gutierrez Cohen (D) beat Geoffrey Tahuahua (R) for County Judge. Johnny Flores (D) was elected Commissioner for Precinct 2 over Abby Gibson (R). Angie Unger (D) beat Rob McClelland (R) for Precinct 4. Bastrop County | Republicans maintain a strong majority on the Bastrop County Commissioners Court. Dock Jackson (D) currently leads incumbent Gregory Klaus (R) for County Judge in a very close race. Clara Beckett (R) won re-election as Commissioner, Precinct 2 in an unopposed race. David Glass (R) was re-elected Commissioner for Precinct 4 over a write-in challenger, Kate Hammer (I). Caldwell County | Republicans maintain a narrow majority on the Caldwell County Commissioners Court. John Castillo (D) beat incumbent Hoppy Haden (R) for County Judge. Dyral Thomas (D) was re-elected Commissioner for Precinct 4 over challenger Rob Ortiz (R). Rusty Horne (R) won re-election as Commissioner, Precinct 2, in an unopposed race. |
Texas | Statewide Officials Democratic candidates won every statewide executive office on the ballot. These are the party's first statewide wins in Texas since 1994. Governor | State Rep. Gina Hinojosa (D) defeated three-term incumbent Greg Abbott (R). She will be the first Latina governor of Texas. Lieutenant Governor | State Rep. Vikki Goodwin (D) defeated incumbent Dan Patrick (R). She is the first woman elected to the office and will preside over the Texas Senate in the 90th Legislative Session. Attorney General | State Sen. Nathan Johnson (D) defeated State Sen. Mayes Middleton (R). Comptroller | State Sen. Sarah Eckhardt (D) defeated incumbent Don Huffines (R). Land Commissioner | Benjamin Flores (D) defeated incumbent Dawn Buckingham (R). Agriculture Commissioner | Clayton Tucker (D) defeated Nate Sheets (R). Railroad Commissioner | State Rep. Jon Rosenthal (D) defeated Bo French (R). The Texas Supreme Court keeps a 5–4 Republican majority, but all four incumbent republican justices on the ballot, including the Chief Justice Jimmy Blacklock, lost their races. Four of the new statewide officials are Central Texans: Hinojosa (HD49), Goodwin (HD47), Eckhardt (SD14), and Senator-elect Talarico (HD50). Their wins will bring significant turnover to Travis County's legislative delegation. Eckhardt's election as Comptroller will also trigger a special election to fill her Senate District 14 seat. |
Texas | House and Senate: The Texas House will be under Democratic control for the first time since 2003. Democrats needed to flip 14 seats to secure the majority and appear to have flipped at least 19, which would give them at least 81 of 150 seats. The Texas Senate remains under Republican control, 19–12, with every incumbent winning reelection. All eight TREPAC-supported candidates whose districts include a part of Travis County won their races: Returning | Ellen Troxclair (R) HD19, Sheryl Cole (D) HD46, Donna Howard (D) HD48, Maria Luisa "Lulu" Flores (D) HD51, Judith Zaffirini (D) SD21 New | Pooja Sethi (D) HD47, Montserrat Garibay (D) HD49, Samantha Lopez-Resendez (D) HD50 |
U.S. Congress: Nationally, Democrats have won control of both chambers of Congress. They flipped at least seven U.S. Senate seats: Iowa, Kansas, Ohio, Maine, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas. That puts them on track for 54 (possibly up to 56) Senate seats and as many as 258 House seats. State Rep. James Talarico (D) defeated Attorney General Ken Paxton (R). He is the first Democrat Texas has sent to the U.S. Senate since Lloyd Bentsen in 1988. Starting in January, the U.S. House delegation from Texas will be 24 Republicans and 14 Democrats, a net gain of one seat for Democrats under the newly redrawn congressional map. In Central Texas: CD37 | Greg Casar (D) won the redrawn, Austin-centered seat long held by Lloyd Doggett, over Lauren B. Peña (R) CD10 | Chris Gober (R) won the open seat previously held by Michael McCaul over Caitlin Rourk (D) CD17 | Pete Sessions (R) was re-elected, defeating Casey Shepard (D) CD21 | Mark Teixeira (R) won the open seat previously held by Chip Roy over Kristin Hook (D) CD27 | Michael Cloud (R) is currently leading over Tanya Lloyd (D) in his reelection race |
As a reminder, the City Council runoff election will be held on Saturday, Dec. 12. Thank you all for getting out the REALTOR® vote! |
