Vallejo ahead of Ramirez by 23 votes with 100% of precincts reporting

The dust still had not settled as of Wednesday afternoon in the Democratic runoff for congressional District 15.

Progressive Democrat Michelle Vallejo held on to a 23-vote lead early into Wednesday morning.

With all of the polling locations reporting to the Texas Secretary of State, Vallejo held 6,043 votes to moderate Ruben Ramirez’s 6,020 for the Democratic nomination for Texas’ 15th Congressional District.

Vallejo and Ramirez were locked in a runoff after they took the most votes in a field of six candidates in the March primary.

Early Wednesday morning, Vallejo posted to social media that the race was too close to call. At that time, the number of votes was the same, but only 88% of Texas polling locations had reported to the Secretary of State.

“As of tonight, we are up by 23 votes in the runoff election for the Democratic nomination. This is due to the hard work of our incredible grassroots coalition, volunteers who knocked on doors, called voters, and did whatever they could to reclaim the power of our community,” Vallejo said in the post. “Though the race is too close to call, we are heartened by the clear path to victory.”

In a Wednesday morning statement, Ramirez echoed Vallejo, saying the race is still too close to call, but he is encouraged by the outpouring of community support and professionalism of elected officials.

“Now, we must ensure that every ballot in the Texas 15th Congressional District is counted. Our campaign trusts in the democratic process and integrity of this election,” Ramirez said. “We know that our election workers are doing all they can to get us a result, and we thank them for their tireless work.”

Ramirez also thanked his supporters.

While Vallejo holds the lead by fewer than two dozen votes, election officials are still sorting through provisional and mail-in ballots.

District 15, which Texas Republicans recently redistricted to favor the party, encompasses Hidalgo County, as well as six other counties that stretch north and northeast of San Antonio and Bexar County.

The district is a Republican-target for flipping in a region that is traditionally blue, as well as one that is a major talking point for conservative politicians because of immigration and border security.

While the Secretary of State numbers are unofficial, Vallejo appears to be headed to the race in November to face Republican firebrand Monica De La Cruz.

De La Cruz, whose politics reflect those of former President Donald Trump, came close to beating District 15 incumbent U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez in 2020 with 49% of the vote.

Gonzalez, however, is now running in District 34 due to redistricting.

Editor’s note: The story has been updated with the full version.