The Republican Governors Association is congratulating Greg Abbott for winning a third term as Texas governor. With 91% of polling places reporting Wednesday morning, the Texas Secretary of State's office said Abbott led Democrat Beto O'Rourke 55% to 44%.
"Governor Greg Abbott has fought tirelessly to grow Texas' economy, give parents more say in their child's education, support law enforcement, and defend the Lone Star State with incredible adversity in the face of the Biden Border Crisis. Texas and the entire nation owe a great debt to Governor Abbott's leadership, and we couldn't be more grateful to see him re-elected for four more years tonight," Republican Governors Association Co-Chairs Doug Ducey and Pete Ricketts wrote in a statement.
Ducey is governor of Arizona; Ricketts is governor of Nebraska. Both were term limited and not running for reelection Tuesday.
The Texas Democratic Party says Republicans received a "drubbing" in South Texas, winning just one of three redrawn Congressional districts. Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa says the party's work must start again Wednesday.
Hinojosa says he believes Republican leaders in Texas are preparing to run for higher office, saying he expects "their political stunts will become more extreme, more frequent, and will come at a higher cost to everyday Texans."
"In the coming legislative session, we can expect a renewed push toward extremism from Texas Republicans. Despite the blaring sirens that [Tuesday night's] results yield for them directly beneath the topline numbers, they have shown themselves as willing to stop at nothing to maintain their desperate grip on power in this state," Hinojosa said.
Statewide results Tuesday night were similar to four years ago. In 2018, Abbott won his second term as governor, beating Democrat Lupe Valdez 56 to 43 percent.
Wednesday morning, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick led Democrat Mike Collier 54 to 43 percent. In 2018, Patrick defeated Collier 51 to 46 percent.
Ken Paxton led Democrat Rochelle Garza in the race for Texas Attorney General, 54 to 44 percent. In 2018, Paxton beat Justin Nelson 51 to 47 percent
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