AUSTIN, Texas — The red state of Texas is staying red, despite talks from Democrats about a blue wave sweeping over the state for president, senate and more.
Gov. Greg Abbott predicted this would happen in a tweet he posted two days before the election.
"Texas is staying Red!!!" he wrote.
In the race for U.S. senator, Democrat MJ Hegar lost to incumbent Republican Sen. John Cornyn by more than 1 million votes.
Incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul defeated his Democratic opponent, Mike Siegel, with nearly 30,000 more votes, for the 10th congressional district of Texas. It stretches from Travis County to Houston.
The same happened in the race for District 21 between incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Chip Roy and former Democratic state Sen. Wendy Davis. The district includes parts of Austin, San Antonio and the Hill Country.
In 2018, the margins in races for districts 10 and 21 were much narrower. So what happened here?
Dr. Jeremi Suri, a professor of history and public policy at the University of Texas at Austin, explains.
"I don't see evidence that there's an up-swelling of new conservatives moving into these parts of Central Texas. What I do see is that the conservatives who are already there being more politically charged than they've been before," he said.
Dr. Suri suspects Republican voters felt threatened by the left-leaning candidates in these districts and showed up to keep the seats red. And the numbers prove it.
More Republicans voted in these races this year than they did in 2018. The Democrats did, too, but they didn't get enough votes.
"They need to get more, even more of the new voters, the young voters out. You still have a large gap in the young voter turnout in the possibility that you have in the community," Dr. Suri said.
But, perhaps, some positive news for Democrats: Williamson County voters narrowly favored Joe Biden over President Donald Trump. They haven't favored a Democratic presidential candidate in at least three decades, according to the Texas Secretary of State's website, a sign of changing demographics.
"I think you have the new voters who are coming in who are much more progressive and are more likely to vote Democrat. And then you have some Republicans who will crossover on certain issues and, perhaps, are even persuaded," Dr. Suri said.
In a message to her party's members, Travis County Democratic Party Chair Katie Naranjo took pride in the county's high turnout for Biden while acknowledging the difficulties in flipping seats.
"We have to remember: the U.S. congressional districts and Texas House districts were drawn by Republicans with the purpose of maintaining their majorities. The fact that we were able to protect Rep. Vikki Goodwin, Rep. James Talarico, Rep. John Bucy III and Rep. Erin Zwiener is proof we are making gains in Central Texas," she said.
For now, Democrats will have to look to the future for a change in color.
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