Freshman Rep. Chip Roy defeated Wendy Davis in Texas’s 21st Congressional District after a widely watched and well-funded race captured national attention.
The Republican won with 52.3% of the vote to Davis’ 45.8%, according to the New York Times, after a hard-fought battle amid the Democratic push to turn Texas blue.
Roy, a former chief of staff to Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, was elected in 2018 after the retirement of 16-term Republican Rep. Lamar Smith. Roy has been a high-profile voice in the House, voting against a disaster relief bill in the wake of Hurricane Harvey because it would have added to the national debt and did not include funding provisions for security along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Davis, a former Texas state representative, came to national prominence in 2013 after she staged a filibuster to block a ban on abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy. The filibuster was successful, but then-Gov. Rick Perry called a special session and passed the restriction. She ran an unsuccessful campaign for the Texas governorship in 2014.
Texas’s 21st District was rated a “toss-up” by the Cook Political Report. The district spans from downtown Austin to northern San Antonio and includes large swathes of Texas ranch land in the famed Hill Country area of the Lone Star State. The urban, suburban, and rural makeup of the district makes it a unique race and one that could reflect larger electoral trends.
A mid-October poll showed Roy ahead of Davis by 5 points, but Davis had a fundraising edge, raising $8 million to Roy’s $4.5 million haul.
Roy’s win adds a bright spot in a mixed night for the GOP, which is projected to remain the minority party in the House.
