With only 63 of the 300 precincts in Texas Senate District 27, Republican Adam Hinojosa was leading Democrat Morgan LaMantia as of press time Tuesday night, though it wasn’t clear what the outcome would be.
While Hinojosa far outpaced LaMantia in counties such as Kleberg and San Patricio, LaMantia had an edge over Hinojosa in the Rio Grande Valley.
Unofficial results from Cameron County showed LaMantia with 54.6 percent of the vote to Hinojosa’s 45.4 percent with 88.1 percent of precincts reporting. In Hidalgo County, LaMantia had 63.2 percent of the vote to 36.7 for Hinojosa with 82.3 percent of precincts reporting.
LaMantia defeated Sara Stapleton Barrera in the May 24 Democratic primary runoff election, while Hinojosa, a Corpus Christi resident and business owner, bested Raul Torres and Isreal Salinas in the March 1 Republican primary.
Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr. has held the District 27 seat since 1991 but last year announced his decision to retire rather than run for another term.
And while Lucio, a conservative Democrat, has often sided with Republicans in the Legislature and endorsed his friend Dan Patrick for lieutenant governor instead of the Democratic candidate Mike Collier, Lucio endorsed LaMantia as his successor early this year during her runoff battle with Stapleton Barrera.
LaMantia, a resident of South Padre Island and an attorney employed by her family’s business, McAllen-based L&F Distributors, has carried a substantial war chest during the campaign, having raised nearly $1 million in total donations between Jan. 1, 2021 and Oct. 29, 2022, and spent $5.7 million, according to TransparencyUSA.org.
Hinojosa had raised $877,752 in donations and spent $411,236 as of the last report.
In the District 20 state Senate race, with only 7 of 299 precincts reporting Democratic incumbent Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa was ahead of Republican challenger Westley Wright by 60.2 percent to 39.8 percent, according to the Texas Secretary of State.
In Texas House races for District 35, 39 and 41 with the majority of precincts reporting, Democrat incumbents Oscar Longoria, Armando “Mando” Martinez and Bobby Guerra were well ahead of Republican challengers Oscar Rosa, Jimmie Garcia and John “Doc” Robert Guerra.
In the District 37 House seat, with only 17 of 64 precincts reporting, Republican candidate Janie Lopez was ahead of Democratic incumbent Rep. Luis Villarreal Jr. with 51.7 percent of the vote to 48.2 percent.
Here’s the latest update:
LaMantia edges out Hinojosa: District 27 state Senate race was a squeaker
