The new map of a U.S. congressional district has spurred a domino effect statewide: a longtime congressman’s retirement, an incumbent running in another district and a batch of new hopefuls representing a new constituency.
President Donald Trump recently endorsed Air Force veteran Carlos De La Cruz for the seat Texas Republicans drew at his request. Democrats also see a chance to win in November.
Lujan, a Republican, represents a state House district that covers southern and eastern portions of San Antonio, overlapping with the new congressional seat.
Among the most competitive races on the Bexar County ballot for Texas House include District 118, which features Republican incumbent John Lujan and Democrat Kristian Carranza. The other Texas House race that’s expected to be competitive is District 121 between Marc LaHood and Laurel Jordan Swift.
Across a dozen of the most competitive House races, Republicans raked in more than $11 million over the last month, compared to the nearly $3.5 million collectively raised by their Democratic counterparts.
With 100% of Bexar County’s 302 voter precincts reporting, KSAT 12 is projecting Republican incumbent John Lujan III as the winner of the State House District 118 race.
Voters in Bexar County and beyond are already casting early voting ballots ahead of the Nov. 5 election, including for president, US senator, representatives in the U.S. and Texas houses, plus other candidates running for office at the state and local levels. Some voters will also decide municipal and school propositions.
Democrats — riding a wave of enthusiasm sparked by Kamala Harris’ nomination — think they can flip just enough House seats to stop Republicans from passing school vouchers.
Democrats have long held an edge in South Texas, but Republicans see an opening there to expand their House majority.
The Bexar County GOP accused Democrat Kristian Carranza of using a Hispanic surname to appeal to the district’s largely Hispanic population.
Much of the House battlefield is centered in districts with struggling schools, where Democrats hope public education will resonate at the ballot box.
Local mothers who lost their children to fentanyl were gut-wrenched last week to hear a batch of drugs laced with fentanyl killed nine people in Austin and caused about 75 to needed Narcan rescue. This tragedy has strengthened their resolve to educate their community and prevent more deaths.
‘I’m very frustrated.’ State Rep John Lujan said he is looking into it
Lujan has twice won special elections to the Texas House — but he has never served while the Legislature met.
Find election results from San Antonio-area state House races, including Districts 31, 44, 53, 73, 74, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125
In some battleground state legislative races, Republicans have been making overtures to those who believe the ban as too extreme. They have said they are open to revising the ban to include the exceptions — and even voiced confidence that the Legislature will do so when it reconvenes in January.
Republican and Democratic state legislators joined Texas Tribune CEO Evan Smith in a panel at the University of Texas at San Antonio on Wednesday.
Republican John Lujan attributed his victory in the House District 118 race to a “perfect environment.” It came the same night Republicans captured the Virginia governorship in a contest widely seen as a referendum on Joe Biden’s presidency.
Eight amendments will be enshrined in the Texas Constitution and voters in south and east Bexar County chose a familiar face as their new state representative during Tuesday’s election.
Republicans saw flipping the seat as a way to make headway into South Texas, where Democrat Joe Biden underperformed last year.
:strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/d1vhqlrjc8h82r.cloudfront.net/10-26-2021/t_bbbf43cd75904b9e81f251d2f7d6cfef_name_image.jpg)
Instead of five early voting sites, the runoff for District 118 State Representative has only three within its boundaries, as well as one at the Bexar County Elections Office outside the district.
:strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gmg/FCLLQD2KCBF43JTDZD3MYH4J3M.jpg)
A Republican who once held the seat and a Democrat will go head-to-head in a runoff after no clear winner was decided in the special election to fill the seat of former state Rep. Leo Pacheco of San Antonio.
:strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gmg/UZ7HE4OPOFEURFUVJCKWNEBW5I.jpg)
A Republican who once held the seat and a Democrat will go head-to-head in a runoff after no clear winner was decided Tuesday night in the special election to fill the seat of former state Rep. Leo Pacheco of San Antonio.
:strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gmg/U6P6XV2KINDGLA7DO7NHZ5TDSY.jpg)
Voters in southern and eastern parts of Bexar County will be headed to the polls Tuesday for a special election to fill the seat of former state Rep. Leo Pacheco of San Antonio.
:strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gmg/I5C2ZFTBRRBTBA6BPYPEHYY3I4.jpg)