What Blue Wave? Republican Wins Seat Dems Have Held For 139 Years
Not only have the Democrats held this seat for 139 years but in 2016, Hillary won the district by 12 points. Pete Flores, a newcomer to politics and a former game warden defeated Mark Gallego, a former state and US rep in District 19 for the Texas statehouse. The special election was made necessary when long time Democrat Sen. Carlos Uresti was convicted on 11 felony charges. The preliminary election held in July placed both Flores and Gallego into a run off election for the seat. Uresti joins a long line of Democratic politicians who have been sent to prison in recent years.
Gallego for the Senate District 19 seat after receiving backing from some of the state’s most prominent politicians, including Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, and U.S. Sens John Cornyn and Ted Cruz.
“This district has not been Republican since Reconstruction. And in September of 2018, it’s Republican once again,” Flores told supporters. “The work starts tomorrow.”