This story has been updated.
Rep. John Lujan beat Democrat Frank Ramirez in one of the most closely watched Texas House races Tuesday night, holding onto a seat Republicans have never before won in a general election.
He took 52% of the vote to Ramirez’s 48%.
Lujan’s victory comes as Republicans poured millions of dollars in South Texas this election cycle, but had little to show for it election night. They lost two of the three Congressional races they were targeting, including U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar’s seat in Texas’ 28th Congressional District.
“We seem to be bucking the trends a little bit,” Lujan told the San Antonio Report at the Pica Pica Plaza event center between right red banquet tables and decorative lights. His campaign party shut down before the final votes were counted early Wednesday.
Lujan has twice represented Texas’ House District 118 after winning special elections, but has yet to serve in a legislative session. The district was redrawn more favorably for Republicans last year, but still, President Joe Biden would have carried the newly drawn district by roughly 3%.
Democrats cleaned up in countywide races Tuesday night, installing a new county judge and fending off a well-funded challenge to District Attorney Joe Gonzales.
Yet Lujan held on in a district that includes portions of San Antonio’s South Side and wrapping around the county’s far east and northeast areas.
The former Bexar County sheriff’s deputy and Bexar County firefighter has spent years courting support for conservative causes on the South Side.
“At one point you wouldn’t say ‘Southside Republican,’” Lujan told a group of supporters gathered to greet voters at Mission Library last week. “There’s still a lot of closeted out there who are like, ‘I’m voting for you,’ but they’re quiet about it.”
Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan, who recruited Lujan to run in the special election, combined with other GOP groups, poured $1.5 million worth of in-kind help such as TV and mail ads, polling and consulting into Lujan’s campaign. Gov. Greg Abbott held a campaign rally at Lujan’s brother’s feed store in Von Ormy days before the election.
Ramirez is a former staffer in the Texas House and on the San Antonio City Council. He finished closely behind Lujan in the special election runoff, but received far less financial support from his party.
On Saturday Beto O’Rourke, state attorney general candidate Rochelle Garza, congressional hopeful Greg Casar, state Sen. Roland Gutierrez, Bexar County Judge candidate Peter Sakai, and District Attorney Joe Gonzales, as well Councilmembers Ana Sandoval, Teri Castillo and Jalen McKee-Rodriguez, all gathered at Ramirez’s campaign headquarters Saturday morning to knock on doors in the Southside district.
“This is the only way I know of to truly break through and connect with people who have the power to decide the outcome of these incredibly important elections,” O’Rourke said Saturday of his party’s efforts to combat the fundraising disadvantage with grassroots support.
Though Republicans’ control of the statehouse was never in jeopardy, the race was one of three that Phelan spent big on to influence for his party. Two of those Republican candidates were successful, Lujan and Janie Lopez, who won her race in Texas House District 37. Jamee Jolly, who is running for an open state House seat in Collin County, was trailing her Democratic opponent early Wednesday morning.
“John’s going to be an excellent state representative in the Bexar County delegation,” Phelan said of the investment while campaigning with Lujan at the Mission Library. “He committed to run, so we committed to supporting him.”
Bexar County was once home to the House Speaker under Republican Joe Straus, but its representation in Austin has lost clout in recent years.
Rep. Phillip Cortez, a Democrat, was the only member to hold a chairmanship in the last legislative session, overseeing the House Committee on Urban Affairs. Democratic Rep. Ina Minjarez, a close ally of Straus, decided not to run again this year citing increased partisanship under new Republican leadership.
“Bipartisanship is not dead in the Texas House,” Phelan said of that criticism, though he would not say whether members of Bexar County’s delegation — most of whom are Democrats — would be considered for chairmanships in the upcoming session.
Lujan believes his relationships with leadership could be an asset to the delegation.
“Even now, some of my colleagues, when I’m with the Bexar County delegation, somebody will say, ‘Hey, why don’t you fund this?’ And they’ll say, ‘Why don’t you ask Lujan? He’s the favorite,’” Lujan said.
Texas House District 122
Republican Mark Dorazio won the race to replace retiring Rep. Lyle Larson, who did not seek reelection. Dorazio claimed nearly 56% of the vote with all vote centers counted to Democrat Angi Aramburu’s roughly 41%.
Dorazio, who owns his own construction company, was one of few victories for the conservative wing of the party this election season. He finished second in the primary, but went on to beat former San Antonio City Councilwoman Elisa Chan in an expensive runoff. Chan put much of her own money into the race while Dorazio had help from West Texas oil barons who fund the Defend Texas Liberty PAC.
Dorazio replaces Larson, a moderate who frequently butted heads with Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick. Though Dorazio has offered few details on his plan for the Legislature, he’s well-known in Republican circles for leading the effort during his short term as chair of the Republican Party of Bexar County to censure then-House Speaker Joe Straus.
Since the primary runoff, Dorazio’s campaign has been low key. He’s avoided forums and media interviews, and spent just $6,000 in October.
Aramburu campaigned aggressively at Democratic Party gatherings but raised and spent little for her race. The redrawn district would have supported President Donald Trump in 2020 by 8.17%.
Aramburu is a public relations professional who owns her own fitness company. She served on Mayor Ron Nirenberg’s Fitness Council and volunteers with her local Parent Teachers Association.
Stephanie Berlin, the Libertarian candidate for the seat, received under 3% of the vote with all vote centers counted. She is a human resources professional and recruiter and previously ran unsuccessfully for Congress and the State Board of Education.
Texas House District 121
Republican Rep. Steve Allison defeated Democrat Becca Moyer DeFelice by more than 12,000 votes with all polling places reporting.
The win gives Allison his third term in the Texas House. He is a business attorney who served on the board of Alamo Heights Independent School District. In the House, he serves on the Public Health and Public Education committees.
DeFelice is a nonprofit consultant and gun safety advocate. Adopted from Korea, she grew up on a farm in a Mennonite community in Pennsylvania and has lived in San Antonio since 2006.
Though Republicans have long held House District 121, formerly represented by Straus, GOP leaders spent big protecting Allison this year. The redrawn district would have supported Trump by 2.3% but includes many of the wealthy, suburban voters that have been moving into the Democratic Party in recent years.
Allison received almost $500,000 worth of in-kind campaign contributions from Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan, Associated Republicans of Texas and other GOP-aligned groups. DeFelice received much smaller assistance from organized labor groups.
Texas House District 124
Democrat Josey Garcia, a U.S. Air Force veteran and police reform activist, won the race with nearly 66.97% of the vote to Republican Johnny Arredondo’s 33.03%.
Garcia runs a youth nonprofit she founded that conducts mission trips to Mexico to help migrants on their journey to the U.S.
Arredondo is a retired retail professional who referees NCAA basketball games. He ran unsuccessfully for the seat in 2018 and for San Antonio City Council’s District 4 seat in 2019.
Texas House District 117
Democratic incumbent Philip Cortez defeated Republican challenger Aaron Schwope, taking 62.55% of the vote.
The victory gives Cortez his fourth consecutive term in the Texas House. A former San Antonio City Council member and U.S. Air Force veteran, he currently chairs the House Committee on Urban Affairs.
Schwope manages a San Antonio-based repossession company. He previously worked in the insurance industry and served as a volunteer firefighter.
Texas House District 119
Incumbent Democrat Liz Campos secured her second term in the House with a resounding 78% of the vote over Libertarian activist and opponent Arthur M. Thomas IV, who had received 22%.
Campos is a former state House and state Senate staffer and serves on the Public Health and Urban Affairs committees.
Thomas has run unsuccessfully for Congress, the Texas House and Senate, the San Antonio City Council and the San Antonio River Authority board of directors.
Texas House District 120
Democrat Barbara Gervin-Hawkins, seeking her fourth term in the Texas House, also retained her seat with 67.44% of the vote with all vote centers reporting. An educator and construction company owner, she serves as vice chair of the Culture, Recreation, and Tourism Committee, as well as the Defense and Veterans’ Affairs Committee.
Republican challenger Ronald Payne, a retired U.S. Army veteran and health care professional, captured just 32.56% of the vote.
Texas House District 123
Incumbent Diego Bernal, a civil rights lawyer and former San Antonio City Council member, secured 66.7% of the vote to defeat Republican challenger Charlotte Valdez, who did not appear to mount a public campaign.
Bernal won the Texas House seat in a 2015 special election and serves on the Public Education and Urban Affairs committees.
Texas House District 125
Democrat Ray Lopez safely held his seat with nearly 63% of the vote, giving him a third term in the Texas House. He is a former communications executive for AT&T who represented District 6 on the San Antonio City Council and served on the board of the Northside Independent School District. In the House, he serves on the Defense and Veterans Affairs committee.
Republican challenger Carlos Antonio Raymond is a U.S. Army Veteran and Realtor. He ran unsuccessfully for Texas’ House District 117 in 2020.
Nicholas Frank contributed to this report.
