Gov. Greg Abbott’s quest for a third consecutive term continues as he emerged the victor in the Republican primary, pitting him against former U.S. Congressman Beto O’Rourke in the November gubernatorial contest.
Abbott, who first won Texas’s highest office in 2014 and did so a second time in 2018, fended off challenges from ex-state senator and real estate magnate Don Huffines and past Texas Republican Party chairman Allen West.
The Texas Tribune reported that provisional election results showed Abbott had accumulated 68% of the vote with about 80% of precincts reporting.
West came in a distant second with 12%, while Huffines finished third, according to the website.
Former President Donald Trump gave Abbott his endorsement, which the 45th commander-in-chief affirmed at a rally in Conroe more than a month ago.
Abbott was at a campaign rally in Corpus Christi when he received word that he had a virtual lock on the GOP nod.
“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,” he said, according to The Texas Tribune.
O’Rourke, who unsuccessfully ran for the U.S. Senate in 2018 and the Democratic nod for the presidency two years later, secured 90% of the party’s vote to become the third challenger to Abbott, the website reported.
O’Rourke kept tabs on the results at a campaign event in Tarrant County, a Republican stronghold he flipped in his favor during his Senate bid.
“Tell me there’s a more important place for us to be in Texas, more important place for us to win, than this one right here,” he said, The Texas Tribune reported.
Some polls show Abbott ahead of O’Rourke, who seeks to become the first Democrat to win the governor’s office since the late Ann Richards in 1990.
Texas has leaned Republican for almost a quarter century.
The Associated Press reported that the GOP primary for Texas Attorney General was the more competitive race.
While incumbent Ken Paxton leads a four-way race, he’ll likely enter a runoff against Texas General Land Office Commissioner George P. Bush, a member of the prominent Bush family that includes two former presidents, his uncle, George W. Bush, and his late grandfather, George H.W. Bush.
The Texas Tribune reported that Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick easily took the Republican primary for the second-highest office in the state while his Democratic opponent is yet to be determined.
With over 70% of the vote in, Mike Collier, who ran a failed bid for the same position in 2018, is in the driver’s seat with 42%, meaning he’ll head for a runoff.
In the Austin area, the U.S. House District 35 Democratic primary resulted in a victory for former Austin City Council member Greg Casar.
Austin ABC affiliate KVUE reported that Casar secured the nod when more than 60% of the vote came in.
On the Republican side, Dan McQueen and Michael Rodriguez will head for a May runoff.
