As of press time yesterday evening, the nationwide outcome of the presidential election had not been determined. The fate of the U.S. presidency hinges on tight races in battleground states. Locally, though, voters favored Joe Biden over President Donal Trump by a 438 to 415 margin. Democrats once again won down the ballot county-wide but with a much narrower margin than in recent elections.
In 2016, about 60% of Culberson County voters supported Hillary Clinton. Biden carried the county by a 3-point margin, with about 51%, down from Clinton’s margin. Trump’s share of the county’s vote jumped from 37% to 48%.
In Culberson County, 864 people — 50.6% of registered voters — voted in person and by mail, surpassing the total number of votes cast in 2016 and 2018. There are 1,709 registered voters in Culberson County, an increase of 72 voters from 2018. During early voting, 569 people, 33.3% of registered voters, cast their ballots.
In 2016, 766 county residents cast a ballot in the general election, a 43.3% total turnout. This year’s overall percentage turnout is still below 2018’s midterm election turnout of 52%, according to the latest figures reported by the Secretary of State.
In the U.S. Senate race, local voters favored Mary “MJ” Hegar over John Cornyn by a 385 to 367 margin. Incumbent Senator Cornyn has been declared the winner in the race.
In the battle for the U.S. Representative- District 23 race, local voters favored Democrat Gina Ortiz Jones, 429 to 350. However, Republican Tony Gonzales won the closely watched congressional district race.
Gonzales will go on to fill the vacancy left by retiring Rep. Will Hurd. The 23rd district has long been a battleground for Democrats and Republicans for decades, with Jones narrowly falling short in her bid for the seat in 2018 by 1,100 votes to incumbent Hurd. The 23rd district is vast and stretches from the outskirts of San Antonio to parts of El Paso, encompassing 29 counties.
In the race for State Representative District 74, local voter gave the nod to Democrat Eddie Morales over his challenger by a 421 to 335 margin. Voters also gave the nod to César J Blanco for the State Senator District 29 race with a 410 to 333 margin. Morales and Blanco have won their races.
All the local races for county offices were decided in the primary election, and they were automatically declared winners. They will take office on January 1, 2021.
