SAN ANTONIO – Democratic candidate Xochil Peña Rodriguez and Rep. Roland Gutierrez are likely headed to a runoff election for the nomination to the state Senate District 19 seat.
Rodriguez has 44.28% of the vote and Gutierrez has 37.53% of the vote, as of 5 a.m. Wednesday with 99% of counties reporting. Unless one of the candidates tops 50%, the duo will be headed to a May 26 runoff.
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One of the primary focuses of Rodriguez’s campaign is making health care accessible and affordable for those in her district.
Rodriguez is the daughter of Bexar County Justice of the Peace Ciro Rodriguez and this is her first time running for a political office.
The other front-runner, Gutierrez, is well-known on the Democratic ballot. He left his post as a member of the Texas House of Representatives for District 119, after more than a decade, to run for the District 19 seat.
“The integrity of the entire vote is in question.” A direct quote from State Senate District 19 candidate, Roland Gutierrez, tonight. He tells me he is frustrated at slow vote reporting in Bexar County Yes,he has an attorney. #KSATNews
— Steve Spriester (@stevespriester) March 4, 2020
His platforms are education, healthcare and legalizing cannabis.
Find live results for this race here:
Votes
%
Xochil Peña Rodriguez(D)
Roland Gutierrez(D)
Freddy Ramirez(D)
(426 / 426)
Find live results for all races here.
Watch our election night livestream with KSAT’s Steve Spriester here.
The winner of the Democratic primary has a good chance of winning the seat in November because the district leans left.
Many of Rodriguez’s supporters were waiting for the final results at a watch party. All in attendance were seen wearing campaign T-shirts and holding signs, showing their support.
Gutierrez and his supporters gathered at a watch party as well, waiting for the final voting numbers to come in.
Voters for Gutierrez were also seen holding campaign signs and wearing T-shirts.
Other candidates for the state Senate District 19 include Democratic candidate Freddy Ramirez and Republican incumbent Pete Flores, who is unopposed in his primary.
Ramirez had 18.19% of the vote as of Wednesday morning.
Texas Democrats have held the State Senate District 19 seat for over 100 years. That is, until Flores took the seat in 2018 after ex-state Sen. Carlos Uresti, a Democrat, resigned after being convicted of fraud charges.
Senate District 19 is the largest district in the Texas Senate and it includes 17 counties.
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