Dorazio ended the night with 55 percent of the vote, defeating former San Antonio city councilwoman Elisa Chan.
The seat was vacated by Rep. Lyle Larson (R-San Antonio), who built a reputation as one of the most liberal Republicans in the Texas House by breaking ranks with most other GOP members on certain high-profile bills.
By contrast, Dorazio characterized his campaign as an effort “for the grassroots” and distinguished himself from Chan by touting his support for the party priorities, some of which he helped draft in 2020 as a GOP platform committee chairman.
“I have the longest track record in our community for promoting the Republican principles. And I’ve been involved for 37 years, and I’ve never wavered from that. That’s why Senator Ted Cruz and Governor Rick Perry had endorsed me, because of that track record,” Dorazio said.
“You can look at all my donation history. That’s all I’ve donated to was Republicans, because I believed in the principles and in the values that the Republican party represented.”
When asked which issues he prioritized most in the race, Dorazio named border security and property tax relief.
Chan’s opponents tried to make a millstone out of the latter issue, criticizing her votes to raise property taxes during her time on the San Antonio City Council.
The district leans strongly Republican, meaning Dorazio will likely win the general election in November.
In state races, if no candidate gets a majority of the vote in a primary, then it proceeds to a runoff election. Chan surpassed Dorazio in the March 1 primary but fell short of the 50 percent mark.
Four candidates initially stepped up to seek the Republican nomination for HD 122. Chan and Dorazio finished first and second on March 1, with 37 percent of the vote going to Chan and 27 percent to Dorazio.
Dorazio avoided styling himself as Larson’s replacement.
“I was running to represent the grassroots. You know, we the people. Our government is of the people, for the people, and by the people. And that’s who I represent,” Dorazio said.
“It didn’t go through my mind until here just recently that after we won that I would be going from Mr. Larson to myself. I never thought of it in those terms. But I do know that he had some really good ideas on infrastructure on water.”
Larson endorsed entrepreneur Adam Blanchard, who did not make the runoff after placing third in the March 1 primary.
Dorazio’s major endorsements include Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), Gun Owners of America, former governor Rick Perry, and former opponent Mark Cuthbert.
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