Rep. Will Hurd, R-Texas, has officially won his re-election bid in Texas’s 23rd Congressional District, after his Democratic challenger Gina Ortiz Jones conceded on Monday.
“While we came up short this time, we ran a race of which we can be proud,” Jones said in a statement. “I remain committed to serving my community and country, and I wish Will Hurd the courage to fight for TX-23 in the way in which our district deserves.”
Hurd held the initial lead after Election Day on Nov. 6, but the following morning the secretary of state’s website indicated Jones was ahead by several hundred votes.
However, officials attributed Jones’s short-lived lead to a counting error in Medina County and determined that Hurd was actually ahead by 689 votes.
The revelation prompted Jones to demand that all provisional and absentee ballots be counted and sued the Bexar County election administrator over not releasing a list of provisional voters. She additionally requested that Bexar County issue a 48-hour extension to count the provisional ballots, which was rejected by a Bexar County judge.
Ultimately, the margin between the candidates was a little more than 1,000 votes. According to the New York Times, Hurd received 49.2 percent of the votes, while Jones received 48.7 percent.
“I want to thank my opponent and her supporters for engaging in the democratic process. To thrive, our democracy needs a vigorous competition of ideas, and whether you voted for me or not, I will need your help,” Hurd said in a statement. “To the residents of TX-23, thank you for giving me something that hasn’t happened in over a decade, the privilege of representing you for a third term. I will continue fighting for you every day in Congress.”
There are still three U.S. House races that have yet to be called: New Mexico’s 2nd Congressional District where Democrat Xochitl Torres Small is ahead of Republican incumbent Yvette Herrell; Georgia’s 7th Congressional District where Republican Rep. Rob Woodall is ahead of Democrat Carolyn Bourdeaux; and Utah’s 4th Congressional District where Republican incumbent Mia Love is ahead of Democrat Ben McAdams.
Democrats have so far secured a net gain of at least 37 seats in the House following the 2018 midterm election.
