So, with that, a runoff will follow.
Ortiz pulled in a whopping two-thirds of the votes cast. The next closest were Abuabara and Valdez at roughly 11 percent each.
Jones stated, “I’m honored to be the Democratic nominee in Texas’ 23rd Congressional District. I’ve dedicated my life to public service, and I’m running for Congress to expand the opportunities that allowed me to grow up healthy, get a quality education, and serve our country. Folks in South and West Texas are ready to send a leader to Washington who will fight for quality, lower-cost health care, responsible and compassionate immigration reform, and an economy that works for everyone.”
On the GOP side, Tony Gonzales emerged victorious with 28 percent. He will be joined in the runoff by Raul Reyes who received 23 percent support.
NRCC Chairman Tom Emmer reacted, saying, “Congratulations to Tony Gonzales and Raul Reyes on advancing to the Republican primary runoff. Texas voters rejected Washington, DC resident Gina Jones once, and will do so again in November.”
Turnout for this joint primary surpassed both 2016 and 2018. This bump is due to 25 percent-higher Democratic voter turnout compared to 2016. Republican turnout, meanwhile, dropped 18 percent from 2016 levels — which tracks since there was a competitive open primary at the top of the ticket.
The GOP runoff will occur on May 26 and the winner will face Jones in November.
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Brad Johnson
Brad Johnson is a senior reporter for The Texan and an Ohio native who graduated from the University of Cincinnati in 2017. He is an avid sports fan who most enjoys watching his favorite teams continue their title drought throughout his cognizant lifetime. In his free time, you may find Brad quoting Monty Python productions and trying to calculate the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow.
