Abbott Coasts, Cuellar in Runoff After Texans Vote in 2022’s First Primaries
Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, facing the first competitive Republican primary in his political career, walked away with an easy victory last night in the Texas primary, the first contest of the 2022 campaign season.
With 93% of precincts reporting Wednesday morning, Abbott had secured 66.6% of the vote, easily besting a field of seven challengers. The next closest finisher was Allen West, with 12.3% of the vote.
In a statement, Abbott said “Republicans sent a message” with their continued support for the incumbent governor. “They want to keep Texas on the extraordinary path of opportunity that we have provided over the past eight years.”
Abbott will now face Democrat Beto O’Rourke, who easily won the race for his party’s nomination, garnering 91.2% of the tallied votes.
Other high profile Texans weren’t so fortunate. Embattled Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is headed for a May runoff in which he’ll face Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush, the son of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.
Paxton received 42.7% of the vote on Tuesday, while Bush garnered 22.8%.
The state’s highest profile congressional race is also headed to a runoff.
With 98% of precincts reporting in Texas’s 28th Congressional District Wednesday morning, incumbent Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar holds a slight edge over progressive immigration lawyer Jessica Cisneros, 48.5% to 46.8%.
That sets up a May runoff election contest between the two. This is Cisneros’s second race against Cuellar, who defeated her by a narrow 3.6 percentage points in the primaries in 2020.
In the 15th Congressional District, with 90% of precincts reporting, Ruben Ramirez, who garnered 28.3% of the vote, will also face a runoff against Michelle Vallejo, who received 20.1%.
Visit The Well News later this morning for a fuller recap of the Texas primary.