Narda Serna/THE RIDER
Cameron County and Hidalgo County voters made their choices on the ballot for candidates they want to see in the upcoming November elections, with most leaning toward incumbents in this primary.
As of 11:22 p.m. Tuesday, unofficial results for the Texas U.S. Senate primaries showed incumbent John Cornyn (Republican) garnered 6,292 votes in Cameron County and 8,694 votes in Hidalgo County. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton obtained 4,692 votes in Cameron County and 7,325 votes in Hidalgo County. With no candidate obtaining more than 50% of the votes, a runoff election will take place May 26 between Cornyn and Paxton.
State Rep. James Talarico (Democrat) leads the U.S. Senate Democratic primary race, collecting 20,336 votes in Cameron County and 34,522 in Hidalgo County. His closest contender U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett has obtained 11,079 votes in Cameron County and 15,886 votes in Hidalgo County. As of press time, the race has not been called.
Unofficial votes tallied with 100% of 103 polling locations in Cameron County and 100 of 258 precincts in Hidalgo County as of Tuesday.
In the race for Texas governor, incumbent Greg Abbott (Republican) garnered 12,347 votes by 11:15 p.m. Tuesday in Cameron County and 15,194 votes in Hidalgo County. Abbott will face state Rep. Gina Hinojosa (Democrat), who collected 23,176 votes by 11:46 p.m. Tuesday in Cameron County and 41,357 votes by 11:40 p.m. in Hidalgo County.
Texas’ 34th congressional district
Incumbent Vicente Gonzalez (Democrat) was leading at 10:22 p.m. Tuesday with 13,700 votes, while Eric Flores led in the Republican ballot with 7,137 votes.
Ten Republican candidates ran: Flores, Mayra Flores, Luis Buentello, Scott Mandel, Fred Hinojosa, Keith Allen, Gregory Scott Kunkle Jr. and Jay Nagy.
Aarykah Navarro/ THE RIDER
During his speech at his watch party, Flores thanked his family and supporters present.
“Thank you guys for holding the line with me,” he said. “Thank you for your trust; thank you for your hope. And my promise to you tonight is to never let you all down.”
Flores also thanked the president for trusting in him.
“Thank you for placing your trust in me,” he said. “… As I stood on the stage with President Donald J. Trump on Friday, I made it very clear as to what I would be taking to D.C.: leadership that is focused and determined on delivering results.”
Flores promised the residents to stay grounded, listen and deliver for the South of Texas.
Two candidates ran in the Democratic primary: Gonzalez and Etienne Rosas, who at 10:22 p.m. garnered 8,024 votes.
Gonzalez has served in the House for five terms: Three for Texas’ 15th congressional district and two for Texas’ 34th.
The Rider spoke to Rosas during his watch party in Brownsville.
Etienne Rosas (right), who ran in the Democratic primary for Texas’ 34th congressional district, speaks with Lauren Castillo, a Cameron County resident, during his watch party Tuesday at the Pluton Brewery Company, located at 805 E. Elizabeth St. in Brownsville.
Mariajose Garza/THE RIDER
Mariajose Garza/THE RIDER
When asked about the primary election, Rosas replied his race has been good work and has helped democracy move forward.
“I think that active participation is a reflection of that,” he said. “It means there are voters now engaging with the democratic process, and that is always a positive development.”
Rosas said the campaign was made from the bottom to the top.
“The things that we have built are going to just continue building because we know that the project that we are offering is the way forward,” he said. “… Right now, we’ve been overshadowed because of all the headwinds. In the future, we will continue building because these people aren’t going anywhere.”
Texas’ 15th congressional district
Early results Tuesday night showed incumbent Monica De La Cruz, who is running uncontested, leading the Republican ballot, while Democrats selected their nominee.
Aarykah Navarro/ THE RIDER
Tejano singer Bobby Pulido led with 36,684 votes at 11:40 p.m. Tuesday, against Dr. Ada Cuellar, who garnered 14,264 votes. Pulido will face De La Cruz in the general election.
Pulido said, during his watch party in Pharr, his victory is not the end of his journey.
“[It] is the beginning of everything,” he said. “The people of South Texas have spoken, and I’m honored to accept your nomination to be your next Democratic congressman.”
He added he respects Cuellar and wishes her well on all future endeavors and hopes his supporters join him in beating De La Cruz in November.
Pulido said he believes the region still lacks a clear political identity.
“I think that’s been the biggest issue,” he said. “Nobody’s really defined what it is to be a South Texas Democrat, and I look forward to doing that.”
Cuellar, during her watch party in Weslaco, said her campaign focused on issues she heard repeatedly from voters across the Rio Grande Valley, including health care and economics.
The emergency room physician added her campaign message centered on her personal background and commitment to the region.
“My overall message is that I’m a fighter,” Cuellar said. “I’m someone that grew up in the Rio Grande Valley, grew up in a low-income family, and relied on a strong public education and my parents to make it.”
She said immigration became a more prominent issue later in the campaign, though health care remained her top policy priority.
She said one of the biggest challenges during the race was building name recognition among voters.
Rodolfo R. Rodriguez, who attended the watch party, said he supported Cuellar because of her background in medicine.
“I’d rather have a doctor than a musician to represent us,” Rodriguez said.
Ethan Taylor Maldonado/THE RIDER
Cuellar said regardless of the outcome, she hopes the campaign helped mobilize voters in the district.
“Tonight we started a movement,” she said.
De La Cruz posted a news release on Facebook following the Democratic primary results in the district.
She criticized national Democratic spending in the race and contrasted her record with that of the now-Democratic nominee Pulido.
“I want to congratulate Dr. Ada Cuellar for the race she ran,” De La Cruz wrote. “She was cheated by an establishment that spent over a million dollars to push her aside.”
She added she plans to contrast her record in Congress with that of her opponent during her campaign leading to the general election.
“South Texas is my home,” De La Cruz wrote. “I’m raising my kids here. I feel many of the same pressures local families face — and I show up for them every single day.”
–Sofía Cantú Sauceda contributed to this report.
