This story has been updated.
Raul Reyes, who ran for the Republican nomination for Texas’ 23rd Congressional District, filed a request for a recount on Monday, according to the Republican Party of Texas.
Weeks after the July runoff election, finalized results gave Tony Gonzales a narrow victory for the Republican nomination over Reyes in that district.
The Republican runoff between former Navy cryptologist Gonzales and retired Air Force Lt. Col. Reyes was marked by late endorsements from significant influencers. President Donald Trump endorsed Gonzales, while U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz backed Reyes. Gonzales and Reyes were vying to face Democrat Gina Ortiz Jones on the November ballot. The seat is currently held by U.S. Rep. Will Hurd (R-Helotes), who is giving up his seat in the sprawling swing district, stretching from San Antonio into far West Texas.
The Texas secretary of state’s office provided the vote counts Sunday morning. Gonzales won with 12,342 votes, while Reyes trailed with 12,297.
Reyes said Friday night that he would be seeking a recount.
“We worked too hard, for too long, not to ensure every legal vote was counted properly,” Reyes said in a statement. “This is a large district, with 29 separate elections run by 29 distinct counties, many of which use paper ballots where human error often enters into the vote counting process. We want to ensure all ballots were counted properly through an expeditious recount process as allowed under law.”
Reyes will know by Wednesday if his recount request is accepted, said Luke Twombly, the state Republican Party spokesman. If Reyes needs to amend his request in any way, he has two days to make changes, Twombly said.
Gonzales declared victory with a “razor thin” margin on Monday, well before the state certified results.
“We have just 79 days until early voting starts in the general election, so there is no time to waste,” Gonzales said in a statement last week. “With liberal Gina Jones sitting on over $2 million from out-of-state donors, we must immediately unify the party to win this race in November. I want to congratulate Raul Reyes on running a tough and vigorous campaign. As difficult as it is, I hope he will put the party first so we can begin working to defeat Gina Jones and Nancy Pelosi here in south and southwest Texas. There is too much at stake.”
On Sunday, Reyes still was accepting contributions on his website to help pay for a recount.
Early voting for the Nov. 3 election begins Oct. 13.
