Cornyn was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 2002.
Prior to his current position, Cornyn worked as the attorney general of Texas.
Hegar, a former Air Force pilot, ran a close race against Rep. John Carter (R-TX-31) in 2018, falling short of a victory with 48 percent of the vote.
Of Cornyn’s four Senate elections, the results on Tuesday were the closest, with a few points ahead of Hegar as of the time of publishing.
“I’m so proud and incredibly grateful for all of your support. Together, we’ve worked so hard, and overcome so much, shattering expectations along the way,” said Hegar. “We’ve built a powerful grassroots movement from the ground up, and I know our fight here in Texas is far from over.”
“It is the honor of my life to serve Texas in the U.S. Senate. Inspired by your trust and your patriotism, I will continue to be a strong voice for our values in Washington. Thank you, Texas!” stated Cornyn.
In Cornyn’s first election, he received 55 percent of the vote, 12 points ahead of his Democratic opponent.
He defeated his challengers in 2008 and 2014 by 12 and 28 points, respectively.
Though 2020 is expected to be Cornyn’s closest election, the results are not quite as close as the 2018 U.S. Senate election between Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and former congressman Beto O’Rourke where Cruz led by 2.6 points.
Hegar led the Democratic primary race in March, trailed by state Sen. Royce West (D-Dallas).
In the Democratic runoff election, Hegar edged out West with 52 percent of the vote.
The contest left some sore wounds, with West refusing to endorse Hegar in the general election.
Cornyn used the feud to his advantage and highlighted West’s statements in advertisements attacking Hegar, though West released a statement emphasizing that he does not support Cornyn.
Polling in the latter part of October placed Hegar as close as five points away from Cornyn and as far as 10 points away.
Throughout the entire race, Cornyn raised slightly more than Hegar, though the Democrat gained momentum in the months leading up to the election that eliminated Cornyn’s cash advantage.
More results in Texas elections can be found here.
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Daniel Friend
Daniel Friend is the Marketing and Media Manager for The Texan. After graduating with a double-major in Political Science and Humanities, he wrote for The Texan as a reporter through June 2022. In his spare time, you're likely to find him working on The Testimony of Calvin Lewis, an Abolition of Man-inspired novel and theatrical podcast.
