The Texas primaries on Tuesday officially opened the 2022 midterm election season, and while several important races remained too close to call early Wednesday morning, the contours were becoming clearer. Here is what we know so far.
Abbott and O’Rourke are the nominees for governor.
Gov. Greg Abbott, the Republican incumbent, and Beto O’Rourke easily won their primaries on Tuesday and will face off in November, with Mr. Abbott seeking a third term as governor and Mr. O’Rourke trying to become the first Democrat to lead Texas in more than 25 years.
Mr. Abbott had two ultraconservative challengers in the Republican primary: Allen West, the former chairman of the Texas Republican Party, and Don Huffines, a Dallas businessman. Neither ended up posing a serious threat.
Mr. O’Rourke — who was Texas Democrats’ Senate candidate in 2018 but narrowly lost the general election to Senator Ted Cruz, and went on to run unsuccessfully for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020 — easily secured his party’s nomination.
The two-term attorney general was forced into a runoff.
Ken Paxton, who is seeking a third term as Texas attorney general, will face a runoff for the Republican nomination against George P. Bush, the commissioner of the Texas General Land Office.
A Guide to the 2022 Midterm Elections
- In the Senate: Democrats have a razor-thin margin that could be upended with a single loss. Here are the four incumbents most at risk.
- In the House: Republicans and Democrats are seeking to gain an edge through redistricting and gerrymandering.
- Governors’ Races: Georgia’s contest will be at the center of the political universe, but there are several important races across the country.
- Key Issues: Inflation, the pandemic, abortion and voting rights are expected to be among this election cycle’s defining topics.
Among the three Republican incumbents running for major statewide races on Tuesday’s ballot, Mr. Paxton is the only one whose primary fate is still in doubt.
On the Democratic side, Rochelle Garza, a former A.C.L.U. lawyer, is also headed for a runoff against an opponent to be determined: either Joe Jaworski, a former mayor of Galveston, or Lee Merritt, a civil rights lawyer.
A Democratic runoff is likely in the lieutenant governor’s race.
Mike Collier and another Democrat will almost certainly head to a runoff, with no candidate appearing likely to receive a majority of the vote on Tuesday. The winner of the runoff will face Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who won the Republican primary by a large margin.
Mr. Collier, who was the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor in 2018 and lost to Mr. Patrick in the general election, led the pack with more than 40 percent of the vote, but that was nowhere near the majority needed to win outright. The second spot in the runoff could go to State Representative Michelle Beckley or to Carla Brailey, a former vice chairwoman of the Texas Democratic Party.
A Republican military veteran has the lead in a deep-red House district.
Morgan Luttrell, a former Navy SEAL who worked for the Energy Department under President Donald J. Trump, appeared to be on track to win the Republican primary in the 8th Congressional District, a Houston-area G.O.P. stronghold where an incumbent is retiring. As of 1 a.m., he had about 53 percent of the vote — more than double the share of the runner-up, Christian Collins, with the only question being whether Mr. Luttrell would stay above the 50 percent mark to avoid a runoff.
Mr. Luttrell and Mr. Collins did not differ much on policy. But Mr. Collins and his supporters — including Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and the campaign arm of the right-wing House Freedom Caucus — sought to frame the race as a contest between the Trump base, to which he laid claim, and the Republican “establishment,” which he accused Mr. Luttrell of representing.
In Texas’ last swing district, Republicans made a choice and Democrats were split.
Monica de la Cruz, a Trump-endorsed candidate, won the Republican primary in the 15th Congressional District, which stretches some 250 miles from San Antonio to the Mexican border and is the only competitive House seat left in Texas after Republican gerrymandering.
The Democratic primary was clearly headed for a runoff, with no candidate breaking even 30 percent, but it was not clear who would advance. Ruben Ramirez, a lawyer and Afghanistan veteran, had a fairly comfortable lead for the first spot as of 1 a.m., but several competitors were within striking distance of the second spot.
Cuellar and Cisneros are headed to a runoff.
The rematch between Representative Henry Cuellar, one of the most conservative Democrats in Congress, and Jessica Cisneros, a progressive challenger who almost unseated him in 2020, in South Texas’ 28th Congressional District isn’t over yet: The two will face again in a runoff.
Ms. Cisneros — who has been endorsed by Senator Bernie Sanders, Senator Elizabeth Warren, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and other progressive leaders — came within four percentage points of beating Mr. Cuellar in 2020. This year, Mr. Cuellar may have been hurt by an investigation that involved an F.B.I. raid of his house in January, the details of which have not been disclosed.
Another progressive candidate, Tannya Benavides, was hovering just under 5 percent of the vote.
A democratic socialist won a House primary in Austin.
Greg Casar, a progressive Democrat, won decisively in the 35th Congressional District, beating State Representative Eddie Rodriguez. The Austin-based seat is solidly blue and is being vacated by Representative Lloyd Doggett, who chose to run in a neighboring district after lines were redrawn this year.
Mr. Casar, a member of the Austin City Council, was backed by Justice Democrats and Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, and his victory speaks to the leftward shift of the Democratic base. He is affiliated with the Democratic Socialists of America, though the group’s Austin chapter withdrew its endorsement last month after he said he supported military aid to Israel.
