Super Wednesday Morning: 2020 Primary Election Results

March 4, 2020 - San Antonio

By Jade Esteban Estrada - Political Columnist, San Antonio Sentinel

Tuesday night, the Bexar County Elections Department experienced a software glitch with their machines, which delayed the announcement of the final election returns until early Wednesday morning. Meanwhile, the results of the Democratic presidential primary caught some political observers completely by surprise.

That surprising experience was watching former Vice-President Joe Biden win ten of the 14 states participating in Super Tuesday’s primary. Biden particularly stunned the nation by winning Texas, the nation's second delegate-rich state behind California, with 433 delegates compared to Vermont’s Senator Bernie Sanders’ 388 delegates. Sanders is projected to win the Golden State, which has not yet determined all of its votes.

San Antonio had the opportunity to hear from the top-tier candidates themselves after recent visits from Biden, Sanders and Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren. Although local voters favored Sanders, whose campaign funding allowed for more boots on the ground - he garnered 33% of the vote in Bexar County - but he came in second in the statewide count by earning 30%. Biden, in turn, came in at 29% in Bexar County - but ultimately won Texas with 34% of Democratic vote. Former New York Mayor Bloomberg, who spent the most money on campaign ads, landed in third with 15% of the votes in Bexar County and 14% in the Texas returns. He dropped out of the race on Wednesday.

It's worth mentioning that among voters in the 14 states that voted in the final hours at the polls, there was an uptick in support from black voters who favored President Barack Obama’s former vice-president. 

The primary race for the Republican nomination was a mere formality; President Donald J. Trump won 93% in Bexar County and 95% of the state’s GOP constituency.

Republican U.S. Senator John Cornyn easily won the primary in his race with 83% of the vote in Bexar County and 76% in state returns.

In the Democratic primary, a crowded field of young Democrats campaigned arduously for the opportunity to challenge Cornyn. Progressive candidate Cristina Tzintzun Ramirez won 22% of the vote in Bexar County, however, came in third place (13%) in the state total. Mary “MJ” Heger earned 19% in Bexar County and came in first at 22% in the state’s returns. Royce West earned 6% of the vote in Bexar County, however, he performed surprisingly well outside San Antonio earning 15% in the statewide total, which catapults him into a May 26 runoff with Heger.  The winner of this contest will challenge Cornyn in November’s general election.

The Texas Railroad Commission is a three-member board that regulates oil and gas drilling around the state. In the Democratic primary for railroad commissioner, Chrysta Castañeda, an engineer, came in at 41% in Bexar county and 34% of state’s final count. Her closest opponent, Roberto “Beto” R. Alonzo, won 33% of votes in Bexar County and 29% with the state tally, which earned him a place in this Democratic runoff. 

Political newcomer Jim Wright came in at a brow-raising 59% in Bexar County and 56% of the statewide vote defeating incumbent Ryan Sitton who earned 41% in Bexar County and 44% in the state total. Wright has unseated Sitton and is on his way to the general election. 

In the Republican primary race for the District 5 seat on the 15-member Board of Education, Lani Popp came in at 35% in Bexar County, and 34% statewide while Robert Morrow came in at 38% in Bexar County and 40% statewide. They will be in the May 26 runoff. On the blue side, Rebecca Bell-Metereau easily won the Democratic primary with 62% of the total vote. 

In the Democratic primary for Senate District 19, Xochil Peña Rodriguez won 46% of the vote in Bexar County and 44% statewide. State Rep. Roland Gutierrez came in at 36% of the vote in Bexar County and 37% of the statewide vote. Both Gutierrez and Peña Rodriguez will participate in a runoff to determine who will challenge Republican incumbent Pete Flores in the general election. 

Former gubernatorial candidate Wendy Davis won the contest in the U.S. Representative District 21 primary with 83% of the vote in Bexar County and 86% statewide. Jennie Lou Leeder garnered 19% of votes in Bexar County and 14% percent of the state votes. Davis will challenge incumbent Chip Roy, who was unopposed in the GOP primary, this November. 

Gina Ortiz Jones once again won the primary in Texas' massive 23rd Congressional District. Ortiz Jones won 73% in Bexar County and 67% in the statewide tally.

In the Republican primary for this race, Tony Gonzales (Bexar County 34%, 28% statewide) and Raul Reyes (17% of Bexar County and 23% of the state total) have advanced to a runoff, which some Latino Republicans had predicted. The winner of the runoff will challenge Ortiz Jones in the general election. 

In the race for U.S. Representative House District 20, incumbent Joaquin Castro won 92% of the vote. His Republican challenger will be determined by a runoff between Pegasus bar owner Mauro Garza, who won 33% of the vote, and Gary Allen who earned 27%.

Congressman Henry Cuellar narrowly avoided a runoff with 26-year-old progressive challenger Jessica Cisneros in the U.S. House Representative District 28 race. Like Tzintzun Ramirez, Cisneros performed well in Bexar County by earning 69% of the vote; Cuellar won 33% of the local vote. Ultimately, Cuellar won by 52% in the statewide results.

The U.S. Representative District 35 Democratic primary was easily won by incumbent Lloyd Doggett (Bexar County 69%, 73% statewide) who defeated Rafael Alcoser III (31% Bexar County, 27% statewide). 

In the Republican primary there will be a runoff between “Guillermo” William Hayward (42% Bexar County, 34% statewide) and Jenny Garcia Sharon (Bexar County 31%, 37% statewide). The winner of this runoff will challenge Doggett in November. 

TEXAS HOUSE RACES

In the HD 116 race, incumbent Trey Martinez Fischer won 83% of the vote, defeating challenger Evan Bohl (17%) in the Democratic primary. Robert Litoff won his Republican primary with a nail-biting 50.1% of the vote. He will challenge Martinez Fischer in November. 

In the D-119 State Representative contest, candidates Elizabeth “Liz” Campos (46%) and Jennifer Ramos (44%) are headed to a runoff. The winner of the May 26 showdown will challenge Republican George Garza, who ran unopposed.

In House District 120’s GOP primary, Ronald Payne triumphed with 72% of the vote. He will face incumbent Barbara Gervin-Hawkins, who was also unopposed in the primary, in November’s general election.

State Rep. 121 candidate Celina Montoya won the Democratic nomination with a 69% win. She will face State Rep. Steve Allison in the fall.

COUNTY RACES

Despite having several challengers, Sheriff Javier Salazar avoided a runoff in the Democratic primary with 53.7% of the vote. Sharon Rodriguez, his closest competitor, earned 17.6% of the vote, but this wasn’t enough to get in the way of a Salazar victory.

In the Republican primary for county sheriff, Gerald “Gerry” C. Rickhoff, also experienced smooth sailing with 52.4% of the vote. The contest between Sheriff Salazar and Rickhoff promises to be one of the most dynamic races of the year.

In the uncomfortably close Precinct 1 county commissioner race, Rebecca “Becky” Flores-Clay (42.6%) is advancing to a runoff with incumbent Sergio "Chico" Rodriguez. The winner of the runoff will challenge Gabriel Lara who was unopposed in the Republican primary.

Precinct 2's County Commissioner Justin Rodriguez won 59% of the vote in his race against challenger Queta Rodriguez, who won 41%. With no Republican filing, the sitting West Side commissioner will be unopposed in November. 

Christine Hortick won the Democratic primary for Precinct 3's county commissioner with 59.6% of the vote. In the Republican primary for this seat, there will be a runoff between Tom Rickhoff, who earned 33.8% of votes and former mayoral candidate Trish DeBerry, who garnered 28.5%.

In the contest for Precinct 1’s constable, Ruben C. Tejeda won the Democratic primary with 62% of the vote. He is also unopposed in the general election.

In Democratic primary for constable for Precinct 2, Leticia Vasquez won 33.5% (who was appointed after the exit of former Constable Michelle Barrientes Vela) is now in a runoff with Ino Badillo who won 13.4% of the vote. 

Incumbent Mark Vojvodich (pronounced Va-voh-ditch) won the GOP primary for constable in Precinct 3 with 64.4% of the vote and is unopposed in the general election.

In the Democratic primary, for Precinct 4’s constable, Kathryn Brown was unable to avoid a runoff after winning 47.2%. Mike “Chief” Ramirez, who won second place with 25.7%, will challenge her on May 26. Larry Ricketts easily won his bid for the Republican nomination for Precinct 4’s constable with 75.6% of the vote. 

Democrat Albert Uresti won the primary for Bexar County Tax Assessor Collector with 68.5%. Steven David Pennington, the Republican vying for the same position, won his primary with 64.4% of the vote. They will face off in the general election.

Lastly, Grace Rose Gonzalez (27.3%) garnered enough support to challenge incumbent Monica Alcantara (30.8%) in the May 26 runoff for chair of the deeply fractured Bexar County Democratic Party. Meanwhile, incumbent Cynthia Brehm (33.5%) will face challenger John Austin (31.3%) in the runoff for chair of the Bexar County Republican Party.

There are few things more all-American than a runoff campaign. San Antonio City Councilwoman Melissa Cabello Havrda, who has been dubbed “The Queen of the Runoff,” once told me, “A campaign is like a half-marathon; a runoff is nothing short of a sprint. And you didn’t necessarily train for that sprint. You have to start with a brand new plan. Whatever worked in the regular election, may or may not work in the runoff. [You] flip the page and start over. No matter how many block-walking interactions a candidate had that might have earned a general-election vote, both competitors are back where [they] started: zero votes.”

I keep telling the Councilwoman that she needs to write a book on the subject.

In the meantime, let the sprints begin.

Jade Esteban Estrada covers politics for the San Antonio Sentinel. He’s also a contributor to the Associated Press. He can be reached at jade@sasentinel.com.