Rick Perry won his third full term as governor of Texas on Tuesday, defeating former Houston Mayor Bill White by a convincing double-digit margin and positioning himself for a role on the national stage. And he led a Republican army that swept all statewide offices for the fourth election in a row, took out three Democratic U.S. congressmen and was on its way to a nearly two-thirds majority in the Texas House — a mark the GOP hasn't seen since the days following the Civil War. Full Story
With 672 of 737 precincts in Dallas County reporting, the race for district attorney remains close. Incumbent District Attorney Craig Watkins, a Democrat, is leading challenger Danny Clancy, a Republican defense lawyer, by less than 1 percentage point, 50.45 percent to 49.55 percent. Full Story
“To those who supported me, please recognize that every governor of our state deserves respect," Bill White told the ballroom crowd at the Hilton Americas in Houston. Full Story
In the race for Harris County judge, Republican Ed Emmett is leading Democrat Gordon Quan by 26 points with 9 percent of precincts reporting. In the race for Nueces County district attorney, Democrat Mark Skurka is leading Republican Anna Jimenez by 7 points. Gov. Rick Perry appointed Jimenez, then a prosecutor in the DA’s child victims unit, as district attorney in March to replace Carlos Valdez. Skurka, who spent 10 years as chief prosecutor and another 10 years as first assistant district attorney, is vying for the final two years of Valdez’s unexpired term. In the race for Tarrant County Probate Court No. 2, Republican Judge Pat Ferchill is leading with 85 percent of the vote, with 11.8 percent of precincts reporting. Ferchill, who has come under fire for holding secret hearings to take child-guardianship rights away from families, is up against Libertarian Bob Shelton. Ferchill recently recused himself from a case in which a disabled girl’s parents had their guardianship rights taken away because they opposed a group home’s reliance on psychiatric medication. The judge who received the motion to re-hear the case postponed a scheduled October hearing last week, citing Ferchill’s upcoming election. Full Story
State Rep. Jim Dunnam of Waco, a Democratic leader and a difficult target for Republicans, was handily defeated by political novice Marva Beck of Centerville. Full Story
Rick Perry and the other statewide Republicans are on their way to easy wins over their challengers and opponents. Republican judicial candidates for statewide positions are winning easily. Four Democrats in the Texas congressional delegation are either behind or have been defeated: Chet Edwards (who conceded earlier this evening to Bill Flores), Ciro Rodriguez, Solomon Ortiz, and Lloyd Doggett. In incomplete returns, there are 22 Democratic incumbents running behind in Texas House races: Stephen Frost, Mark Homer, Jim McReynolds, Solomon Ortiz Jr., Abel Herrero, Yvonne Gonzalez Toureilles, Patrick Rose, Donna Howard, Diana Maldonado, Jim Dunnam, Joe Moody, Joe Heflin, Paula Pierson, Chris Turner, Robert Miklos, Carol Kent, Kirk England, Allen Vaught, David McQuade Leibowitz, Kristi Thibaut, Ellen Cohen, and Hubert Vo. The GOP's high-water mark (post-Reconstruction) was 88 members in the Texas House. The GOP would have to pick up 12 seats tonight to match that. They've already got one — David Farabee, D-Wichita Falls, didn't seek reelection and former Mayor Lanham Lyne is running away with that race. And maybe this tells you more about the night than anything else: No incumbent Republicans in state office are currently running behind. Full Story
Republicans are well ahead in the results for six of seven races for the State Board of Education. The contests are closely watched due to the board's controversial efforts to amend the content allowed in school textbooks earlier this year. In one of the most-watched races, in the Austin area, Republican Marsha Farney leads her Democratic opponent, Judy Jennings, by 59 percent to 28 percent with 30 percent of the vote counted. In a second closely watched race, in the San Antonio area, the Republican incumbent Ken Mercer leads Democratic challenger Rebecca Bell-Metereau 61 percent to 35 percent with 27 percent of the vote counted. In District 1, the Democratic incumbent Rene Nuñez trails Republican challenger Carlos Garza by 42 percent to 58 percent, with 33 percent of the vote counted. Full Story
If he had won tonight, it would have cemented his reputation as a political miracle worker. Instead, U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards lost the Central Texas seat he's held for more than two decades to Republican Bill Flores of Bryan by a wide margin. Full Story
Credit:
Illustration by Marjorie Cotera/Todd Wiseman
The Tribune's crack reporting staff — in Houston, Buda and other political hotspots — will be posting the latest news and spin the minute the polls close. Check back and refresh often for updates and photos from the field. Full Story
Be warned: If you're signed up for our instant e-mail alerts, your mobile device will be buzzing a lot this evening. But there's still plenty of time to update or temporarily disable your alert settings. Full Story
Patience is the central theme emanating from the Houston county clerk’s office as officials there are cautioning that counting the ballots in Texas’ largest county won't happen quickly. Full Story
Gov. Rick Perry wraps up his final full day on the general election campaign trail with an appearance before a throng of supporters in Austin. Full Story
We'll be chock full of constantly updated content beginning at 7 p.m. CDT, when most of the polls close around the state. Here's a handy guide to the barrage of interactives and information you'll find our site, plus where to watch and listen to your favorite Trib staffers make sense of it all on TV and radio. Full Story
Over the past year, we've seen nearly $100 million worth of gubernatorial politics in Texas and millions more spent maneuvering for advantage in Congress, in the Legislature and in other statewide and local offices. Tonight, we'll finally know what's what. Full Story
Candidates, campaign workers and election officials are all gearing up for an end to the 2010 election cycle — and tension is the order of the day. In Travis County, there's a battle brewing between the Republican and Democratic parties, with allegations of voter intimidation and illegal voting flying back and forth. Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports. Full Story
Could you give away $8 million in a week? The state's top political donors did just that during the last seven days, raising the stakes on the governor's race and, mostly, on a relatively small number of bare-knuckle House races. Full Story
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