State Rep. Ryan Guillen earned a decisive victory Tuesday in his first race as a Republican since switching parties nearly a year ago.
Guillen defeated Democratic candidate Martha M. Gutierrez, retaining his District 31 seat.
With 100% of precincts reporting, Guillen earned a total of 34,698 votes, or 71.27%, over Gutierrez’s 13,990 total votes, or 28.73%, according to the Texas Secretary of State’s website.
It was on November 15, 2021, that Guillen announced his decision to switch from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party, the announcement coming one year after his reelection to District 31.
His announcement also came shortly after his long-held district was redrawn by Texas Republicans, who cut out Willacy County and Atascosa County and added Republican-voting Karnes and Wilson counties. District 31 still includes Starr County, which has historically voted Democrat.
Election Day results show that Starr County voters remained loyal to Guillen, casting a total of 7,138 votes in his favor over Gutierrez’s 3,044 total votes.
“We had a historic night last night,” Guillen said on Facebook on Wednesday. “I’m truly humbled and more determined than ever to not let y’all down.”
