And that is precisely what the GOP candidates for Texas’ 23rd Congressional District, Tony Gonzales and Raul Reyes, awake to this morning, as only seven votes separate Gonzales from Reyes out of nearly 25,000 cast.
Reyes jumped out to an early lead thanks to early voting numbers but Gonzales secured the largest county of the nearly 30-county district, which spans across the southern Texas border, by a 60:40 margin.
Nonetheless, no definitive answer on whom will challenge Democratic nominee Gina Ortiz Jones has been provided. Provisional and overseas ballots must still be counted and a recount could loom ahead.
But despite that, Gonzales’ campaign has declared victory, telling supporters, “With 100% reporting, the Texas Secretary of State’s office is showing that we won the primary runoff by seven votes. We will be working to protect the integrity of every legal vote until the canvas is complete over the next week. I am grateful to everyone who helped us in this incredible primary campaign, and I look forward to winning this race in November and always fighting for Texas District 23!”
Meanwhile, Reyes took to Facebook to touch base with supporters. “Friends, this race is far from over. My opponent holds a tenuous seven (7) vote lead, BUT absentee ballots postmarked by election day can still be counted if they arrive by 5:00 pm today.”
“Furthermore, there may still be provisional and overseas, military ballots to count. This race isn’t over until every legal vote is counted,” said Reyes.
The race exhibited a heavyweight matchup as President Donald Trump actively supported Gonzales and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) campaigned for Reyes.
Whichever candidate ends up on top, though, will have a tough battle ahead against Jones who has a large $3 million war chest.
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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.
