Texas’ Rep. Lee Wins Primary as Rep. Gonzales Heads Toward a Run-Off

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) speaks at a press conference calling for the expansion of the Supreme Court, in Washington on July 18, 2022. (Jemal Countess/Getty Images for Take Back the Court Action Fund)

Texas Reps. Sheila Jackson Lee (D) and Tony Gonzales (R) both encountered intraparty criticism but were able to stay above water on Super Tuesday while Democratic voters chose Rep. Colin Allred to face off against Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) in November.

With more than half of her district’s votes counted, Ms. Lee was projected by the Associated Press to beat Houston City Councilwoman Amanda Edwards. Mr. Gonzales faces a bumpier road to his party’s nomination as he failed to get 50 percent of Republican primary voters to support him on Super Tuesday. With 99 percent of the votes counted, he (45.5 percent) and Brandon Herrera (24.2 percent) were projected to compete in a run-off election.

Former Rep. Mayra Flores (R-Texas) is expected to win the GOP primary contest in District 34. With 99 percent of the votes counted, Ms. Flores had 81.8 percent of the vote. In District 26, conservative filmmaker Dinesh D'Souza’s son-in-law Brandon Gill beat out Republican competitor Scott Armey. With 99 percent of the votes counted, Mr. Gill had 58.4 percent compared with Mr. Armey’s 14.5 percent.

It’s unclear who will take District 12, which was left open when Rep. Kay Granger (R-Texas) announced her retirement after 14 terms in Congress. With 99 percent of the votes counted, it seemed as though businessman John O'Shea (26.3 percent) and State Rep. Craig Goldman (44.4 percent) were headed toward a run-off.

Both former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden won their respective primaries by wide margins in the state. GOP contender Nikki Haley, who also served as President Trump’s U.N. Ambassador, got 17 percent of the vote compared with President Trump’s 78.2 percent, with nearly 80 percent of the votes counted.

Lee Holds Onto Seat After 30 Years

With 67 percent of the vote counted, AP projected Ms. Lee (61.1 percent) would beat Ms. Edwards (36.5 percent). Ms. Lee has represented the 18th District for nearly 30 years.

Heading into Tuesday, Ms. Lee held a small lead over Ms. Edwards. Polling from the University of Houston showed Ms. Lee getting the support of 43 percent of likely voters compared with 38 percent for Ms. Edwards.

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Ms. Lee did not announce that she would seek reelection to her Houston district until December, after losing the mayor’s race.

John Whitmire, a veteran Democrat state lawmaker, defeated her in an upset to become mayor of the nation’s fourth-largest city after Ms. Lee faced backlash over an unverified audio recording in which she purportedly berated staff members with a barrage of expletives.

Gonzales, Herrera Headed Toward Run-Off

Mr. Gonzales, who represents the Lone Star State’s 23rd Congressional District, survived a primary challenge on Super Tuesday after the Republican Party of Texas censured him in March 2023 for “violating” GOP principles.

However, he isn’t quite out of the woods. The one-term congressman is headed towards a runoff election with YouTube personality Brandon Herrera after neither received 50 percent of the vote.

With 92 percent of the votes counted, Mr. Herrera reached 23.4 percent while Mr. Gonzales roughly doubled that with 45.6 percent.

Among their primary opponents were Medina County GOP Chair Julie Clark, retired Border Patrol agent Frank Lopez Jr., and retired Homeland Security special agent Victor Avila. Ms. Clark came closest to Mr. Herrera, followed by Mr. Lopez and Mr. Avila.

According to the Texas Tribune, Mr. Avila received the endorsement of President Trump’s former director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Tom Homan, and former Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

However, he only raised $91,000 by the end of 2023, whereas Mr. Gonzales was able to rack up more than $2.6 million.

The 23rd District, which is located in West Texas and extends from San Antonio to El Paso, covers more than 800 miles of the southern border, according to Texas Public Radio.

Flanked by members of the Congressional Hispanic Conference, co-chair Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) speaks during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Feb. 1, 2023. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Mr. Gonzales’ partial victory came at a time when Republicans and former President Donald Trump honed in on President Joe Biden’s border enforcement. Although Mr. Gonzales received an endorsement from President Trump during the 2020 election, he was more recently censured by his own party.

The Texas Republican Party criticized him with a resolution highlighting his vote on a gun control law and the Respect for Marriage Act. Mr. Gonzalez’s four primary opponents have also reportedly targeted his position on the border.

Allred to Face Cruz in November

Rep. Colin Allred (D-Texas) received the most votes in a crowded Democratic primary to determine who will challenge Republican Sen. Ted Cruz in the 2024 general election. Sen. Cruz was quickly projected to win the GOP primary.

The Associated Press called the race for Mr. Allred, a former NFL player who dominated in fundraising and polls leading up to Super Tuesday.

With 84 percent of the votes counted, Mr. Allred had 58.7 percent of the vote compared with state State Sen. Roland Gutierrez’s 17.1 percent in the crowded Democratic field.

On X, formerly Twitter, Mr. Allred thanked Texans for their support. “Thank you, Texas! I am honored to be your Democratic nominee,” he said. “Together, we are going to beat Ted Cruz and give all Texans the leadership we need in the U.S. Senate.”

Polling from the University of Houston showed Mr. Allred leading Mr. Gutierrez, but both fell behind Mr. Cruz, who beat Mr. Allred by nine points in a matchup.

On X, Mr. Cruz reposted a National Republican Senatorial Committee Chair Steve Daines (R-Mont.) deriding Mr. Allred as “an extremist” and expressing confidence in the Texas senator.

Democrats have cast Mr. Cruz’s U.S. Senate seat as vulnerable based on a tighter-than-expected race in 2018 against former candidate Beto O'Rourke. Mr. Cruz won by less than 3 percentage points.

Rep. Colin Allred (D-Texas) speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington on June 24, 2020. (Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP Photo)

No Democrat has won a statewide office in Texas in 30 years, the longest losing streak of its kind in the United States. Mr. Allred, a three-term congressman, garnered attention for his fundraising ability, hauling in $21.3 million in total receipts from Jan. 1, 2023, to Feb. 14, 2024, significantly more than his primary challengers.

Meanwhile, Mr. Cruz’s total was similar at $21.4 million across three political committees during the same period, according to Federal Election Commission records.

Mr. Allred entered the new year with $10 million cash on hand, ahead of Mr. Cruz’s $7.3 million cash on hand raised across three separate accounts headed into the primary.

Mr. Allred is considered more moderate than his main challenger, Mr. Gutierrez, who rebuked his opponent for criticizing President Joe Biden’s handling of the border crisis that has cost Texas billions of dollars.

“The Democratic nominee that goes up against Ted Cruz should fight tooth and nail against Trump’s dangerous so-called policies. If our nominee agrees with Trump and Ted Cruz’s idea of border security, then we’re in a hell of a lot of trouble,” Mr. Gutierrez said in a statement at the time.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) speaks during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, on July 19, 2023. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Mr. Allred campaigned on consensus building and opposed extreme measures such as packing the Supreme Court. Mr. Gutierrez was in favor of changing the rules in order to guarantee a liberal court.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.