There were very few surprises in Texas last night.  Most results were consistent with expectations. Every statewide race was easily won by Republicans, and all with wins of between 8 and 16%.

The Republicans thought the “red wave” would be bigger than it was, but it still produced wins in some swing seats, particularly in South Texas near the border. It seems the wave was good enough to give Republicans running in swing seats a 2 to 3 point boost against the ORVS rating, but not enough to overcome 10 or more ORVS.

• Republicans win all statewide seats.
• SD 27 was closer than expected in light of the partisan makeup of the district and the millions spent, but Morgan LaMantia (D) finally won by a few hundred votes.
• Janie Lopez (R) outperformed her ORVS by a couple of points to win HD 37.
• In TX 15, Monica de la Cruz (R) outperformed her district and defeats Michelle Vallejo (D) by 8 points.
• Mayra Flores (R) loses TX 34 to Vincente Gonzalez (D).  She outperformed the ORVS by 5 points but it wasn’t enough.

Swing Races We Were Watching, Not Along the Border:

• HD 70 was always close between Jamee Jolly (R) and Mihaela Plesa (D), but the results track the ORVS almost exactly for a win by Plesa.
• John Lujan (R) holds HD 118 with his strong crossover vote.

“The Table is Set:”

• The Texas Senate will be 19R-12D with 5 freshmen
• The Texas House will be 86R-64D with 26 freshmen