— End of live updates —
2:30 a.m.
Despite record-breaking turnout in Texas, the Democratic offensive in the state appears to have fallen far short of its expected goal. To what degree depends on the votes that remain to be counted in major metro counties, but election experts at Decision Desk HQ feel confident enough to call the state for Trump and Sen. John Cornyn. Statewide Republican candidates for judgeships and railroad commissioners are also poised to see victory.
Republicans are also expected to hold a majority in the Statehouse, meaning they will again have the opportunity to redraw congressional and state district lines without input from Democrats.
In races for the U.S. House, Democrats kept control if the two congressional seats they flipped in 2018, but have yet to see any pickups — so far — two congressional races remain too close to call, per Decision Desk: TX-23 with Tony Gonzales (R) and Gina Ortiz Jones (D), and TX-24 with Beth Van Duyne (R) and Candace Valenzuela (D).
139 p.m.
President Trump has declared himself the winner of the 2020 election despite votes being counted in many key swing states across the nation.
1:33 p.m.
Democrat Rep. Lizzie Fletcher has won her bid for re-election in TX-07, Decision Desk HQ has called. Fletcher flipped the Republican seat in 2018.
12:38 a.m.
In the race for TX-24, congressional Democratic candidate Candace Valenzuela is calling out her Republican opponent Beth Van Duyne for prematurely declaring victory.
In TX-23, congressional Democratic candidate Gina Ortiz Jones’s campaign also says the race is too-close-to-call and Tony Gonzalez is prematurely declaring victory:
“This race is far from over. With thousands of ballots yet to be counted, the Gonzales campaign’s attempt to declare victory is premature,” said Jones’s campaign manager Lacey Morrison. “The race in Texas’ 23rd Congressional District has always been close and we will continue to work to ensure every vote is counted and every voice is heard in this election.”
Midnight
Republican candidate Troy Nehls has won his bid against Sri Kulkarni for an open congressional seat in TX-22, Decision Desk HQ has called.
11:58 p.m.
Congressional Democratic candidate Wendy Davis has lost her bid against Rep. Chip Roy, Decision Desk HQ has called.
11:42 p.m.
Congressional Democrat candidate Mike Siegel has conceded in his race against Rep. Michael McCaul.
11:12 p.m.
Republican incumbent Rep. Roger Williams has won re-election, Decision Desk HQ has called. He faced Democrat Julie Oliver.
11:00 p.m.
Donald Trump has won Texas, Decision Desk HQ has called.
10:43 p.m.
Texas Democratic Party Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa has issued the following statement reacting to the defeat of MJ Hegar in her U.S. Senate race against Sen. John Cornyn:
“MJ Hegar led a great campaign, centered around our values and issues important to everyday Texans. Although we came up short, I am hopeful because we are marching towards victory and it is because of the hard work of candidates like MJ Hegar. She has contributed immensely to the shifting of Texas’ political landscape and has helped Texans get closer to having national leaders that represent the current and future population of Texas. As a veteran, mother and dedicated public servant, MJ will continue to fight tirelessly for all Texans. This isn’t the last you’ve seen of MJ Hegar and we look forward to seeing what her future holds.”
10:25 p.m.
Decision Desk HQ has called TX-31 for Republican incumbent Rep. John Carter. Carter faced off against Democrat Donna Imam.
10:17 p.m.
Democrat Rep. Collin Allred has won re-election to a second term in his Dallas congressional seat, Decision Desk HQ has called. Allred flipped Texas Texas’s 32nd congressional district in 2018.
10:07 p.m.
Many major counties in Texas have only reported a fraction of their results. Turnout in those major counties will have a major impact on congressional swing districts as well as any statewide wins for Democrats.
Share of precincts that have reported results:
Harris County: 0.1%
Travis County: 0.4%
Dallas County: 0.09%
Fort Bend County: .62% Bexar: 6.52%
El Paso County: 0.48%
9:44 p.m.
Decisions Desk has called Texas’s third congressional district for Republican incumbent Rep. Van Taylor. Results show Taylor leading Democrat Lulu Seikaly by 12 percentage points. The race was called about an hour ago.
9:30 p.m.
President Trump leads Biden 51-48 in Texas. The state has not been called for any candidate yet, but Trump is being forecasted to win Texas by Decision Desk HQ.
Three-fourths of all counties have reported results, but only a quarter of all polling locations have reported results.
8:54 p.m.
Rep. Dan Crenshaw has won a second term to office, defeating Democratic opponent Sima Ladjevardian, according to Decision Desk HQ.
8:47 p.m.
Sen. John Cornyn has won another term to office, defeating Democrat MJ Hegar, according to Decision Desk HQ.
Hegar has called Cornyn to concede, reports the Dallas Morning News.
8:20 p.m.
The Texas Secretary of State website is back up with 44 percent of counties reporting and 5 percent of polling locations. Trump leads Biden by two percentage points.
8:00 p.m.
Biden’s lead has narrow slightly to 51 to 48. An estimated 61 percent of the vote has been counted, per Decision Desk HQ.
7:48 p.m.
Biden continues to lead Trump 52-47 with 56 percent of the vote counted, per Decision Desk HQ
7:37 p.m.
Biden is leading Texas, 53 to 46 percent. A little more than half the estimated vote has already been counted, per Decision Desk HQ.
7:26 p.m.
The Texas Secretary of State is reporting issues with their election results page.
7:05 p.m.
Early vote and mail ballot results are starting to be published. Here’s the tally for some major counties.
Harris County: Biden 56 percent, Trump 43 percent.
Dallas County: Biden 65 percent and Trump 33 percent.
Tarrant County: Biden 60 percent, Trump 40 percent.
7:00 p.m.
Polls are starting to close around the state, but anyone in line should stay put and finish casting their vote.
5:00 p.m.
With polls closing in two hours, election officials around the state are reminding voters to stay in line. Anyone who arrives at the polls before 7 p.m. will be allowed to cast their vote as long as they stay in line.
4:43 p.m.
Turnout in Texas’ major counties continues to boom, reaching 60 percent of registered voter turnout in all major counties except El Paso.
4:00 p.m.
Latino Decisions, a top political polling and research organization, estimates 500,000 first-time Latino voters have voted in Texas.
3:40 p.m.
More than 140,000 votes have been cast in Harris County on Election Day. Together with early vote turnout, that puts the percentage of turnout to registered voters at 63 percent.
The higher the turnout in the populated safely blue county the better Democrats will perform in statewide elections.
Turnout in neighboring Fort Bend County also continues to see record-breaking levels.
3:30 p.m.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a motion for injunction to block El Paso County Judge Ricardo Samaniego local order shutting down non-essential businesses. Paxton, currently knee-deep in a bribery scandal, is arguing that the El Paso local order violates Gov. Greg Abbott’s orders to reopen the state.
The second surge of COVID-19 in the state has hit El Paso particularly hard.
2:00 p.m.
A drama involving a maskless GOP election judge is unfolding in Dallas. The judge and the poll workers they oversee are refusing to wear masks while working the polls. It’s not yet clear if they will be removed from their posts.
1:00 p.m.
After lagging behind other major cities in pre-Election Day turnout, El Paso is off to a good start on Tuesday.
High turnout in El Paso could be one of the deciding factors for a statewide win for Democrats, reports Bob Moore.
In the Houston area, turnout continues to surge. In neighboring Fort Bend County, turnout has reached 70 percent of registered voters, according to County Judge KP George.
The county is home to Texas’s 22nd congressional district, a competitive race where Democrats have invested lots in increasing Asian American turnout. Democrat Sri Preston Kulkarni is challenging Republican Sheriff Troy Nehls for the open seat.
12:40 p.m.
Tarrant County has hit 60 percent voter turnout. The county is home to Fort Worth, the largest urban battleground in Texas.
In 2016, it was the only major metro area to go for Trump.
Trump won the county by a margin nine percentage points.
Noon
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo is touting the county’s turnout, boasting more Houston area residents have voted than 11 states have people. “We’re coming for you next, Idaho,” she said.
11:00 a.m.
Turnout in Texas largest is off to a good start. The Harris County Clerk’s Office reported 70,000 votes cast a few hours after polls opened.
That’s on top of the 1.4 million votes that have already been cast ahead of Election Day, representing 58 percent of the county’s total registered voters.
Fernando covers Texas politics and government at the Texas Signal. Before joining the Signal, Fernando spent two years at the Houston Chronicle and previously interned at Houston’s NPR station News 88.7. He is a graduate of the University of Houston, Jack J. Valenti School of Communication, and enjoys reading, highlighting things, and arguing on social media. You can follow him on Twitter at @fernramirez93 or email at fernando@texassignalarchive.com
