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Texas Primary Results Are In: Gov. Abbott And Beto O’Rourke Take Top Slots In Gubernatorial Race

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Mary Rooke Commentary and Analysis Writer
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Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Democratic Texas gubernatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke beat party challengers in Tuesday’s primary, setting the stage for their general election battle in November.

Abbott faced a vocally tough primary from former Texas State Sen. Don Huffines and former chairman of the Texas GOP Allen West, the Texas Tribune reported. Abbott walked away with almost 67% of the vote, West took 12.3%, and Huffines came in third with 11.8%, Texas election results show. (RELATED: Texas Teachers Unions Spend Big In Republican Primaries For State Legislature)

“Tonight Republicans sent a message they want to keep Texas the land of opportunity and prosperity for absolutely everybody, the prosperity that we have delivered over the past eight years,” Abbott told a Corpus Christi crowd, the Texas Tribune reported.

Don Huffines conceded to Abbott shortly after the polls closed in a statement promising this was not the end for him in Texas politics.

“Our campaign forced [Abbott] to address each of these issues and deliver outcomes that will help everyday Texans,” Huffines said. “Though I will not be contesting the outcome of this election, I will not be going away. I will always fight to defend the God-given rights and liberties of Texans.”

Huffines credited his campaign for recent Republican wins like “the Texas Heartbeat Act, Constitutional Carry, and protecting children from abusive transgender transitioning.”

O’Rourke won his primary with over 91% of the Democratic vote, according to Texas election results. He celebrated in Fort Worth, Texas, where he successfully turned the district blue during his 2018 Senate campaign, the New York Post reported.

“This group of people, and then some, are going to make me the first Democrat to be governor of the state of Texas since 1994,” he told Fort Worth Democrats, according to the outlet.

O’Rourke told the El Paso Times Tuesday that Democrats could flip Texas blue if the region gets a high voter turnout.

“We’re gonna focus on the big things,” O’Rourke said. “On creating better jobs and improving our public schools. On expanding Medicaid and making sure that everyone in this state knows that Texas is big enough for all of us.”