Paces builds lead in Precinct 2 as Democrats surge in partial statewide returns

Republican Commissioner Rich Paces held a commanding lead over independent Jeremy Walther in Kerr County’s Precinct 2 race Tuesday night, even as partial returns showed Democrats ahead in all eight of Texas’ non-judicial statewide races, including the U.S. Senate race and the governor’s race.

Paces had 3,338 votes to Walther’s 1,999, or 62.54% to 37.46%, a lead of 1,339 votes, with 9 of 20 countywide precincts reporting as of the county’s 9:05 p.m. report. He led Walther in mail and early voting and among the Election Day votes counted so far, 555 to 297.

Kerr County stayed solidly Republican up and down the ballot. Ken Paxton had 67.77% of the county’s vote in the U.S. Senate race, and Gov. Greg Abbott had 70.91%. Through 9:05 p.m., 21,187 Kerr County voters had cast ballots, or 53.77% of those registered.

The statewide picture looked very different.

Democrat James Talarico led Paxton 3,493,376 to 2,758,066, or 54.94% to 43.37%, as of the Texas Secretary of State’s 9:32 p.m. update. That update included 195 of 254 counties and 1,053 of 5,302 polling locations.

Most of the votes counted were early votes. Those leads were shrinking as Election Day ballots came in, and none of the numbers are final.

Still, a Democratic win in any of those races would be a major break from three decades of Texas politics. No Democrat has won statewide office in Texas since 1994, and no Texas Democrat has won a U.S. Senate race since 1988.

Where the statewide races stood at 9:32 p.m.

• U.S. Senate: Talarico 54.94%, Paxton 43.37%, a margin of 735,310 votes
• Governor: Gina Hinojosa 52.93%, Abbott 45.75%, 457,502 votes
• Railroad commissioner: Jon Rosenthal 52.78%, Bo French 45.56%, 451,945 votes
• Attorney general: Nathan Johnson 52.60%, Mayes Middleton 45.98%, 417,578 votes
• Lieutenant governor: Vikki Goodwin 52.01%, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick 45.72%, 398,300 votes
• Comptroller: Sarah Eckhardt 51.57%, Don Huffines 46.27%, 333,817 votes
• Agriculture commissioner: Clayton Tucker 51.47%, Nate Sheets 46.79%, 293,611 votes
• Land commissioner: Benjamin Flores 51.53%, Dawn Buckingham 47.11%, 277,685 votes

Paxton trailed the rest of the Republican ticket. He had 155,669 fewer votes than Abbott, while Talarico had 122,139 more than Hinojosa.

The margins tightened over the hour. Talarico’s lead fell from 14.70 points at 8:32 p.m. to 11.56 points at 9:32 p.m., even as his vote lead grew. Flores’ lead over Buckingham fell from 7.61 points to 4.42.

Election Day votes were breaking heavily Republican. Paxton led Talarico 120,346 to 43,464 among those counted so far, and only about 20% of polling locations had reported.

Closer to home, Republican Mark Teixeira led Democrat Kristin Hook 149,346 to 132,444, or 53% to 47%, in the 21st Congressional District. His lead was 16,902 votes, and he had 72.40% of Kerr County’s vote. Most of the district’s votes were early votes, and Teixeira led among Election Day votes 5,789 to 1,461.

Nationally, Democrats were trying to win a net four seats for a Senate majority. The Associated Press called North Carolina for Democrat Roy Cooper, flipping a Republican-held seat, and reelected Sen. Jon Ossoff in Georgia.

All results are unofficial.