Republicans Flip Long Time Democratic Senate Seat
Written by Staff Writer on September 21, 2018
Voters elected political newcomer Pete Flores to the Texas Senate on Tuesday, changing a Democratic district to Republican for the first time in 139 years.
Flores defeated former state and U.S. Representative Pete Gallego for the District 19 Texas State Senate seat. Flores had support from some of the state’s most prominent politicians, including Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, and U.S. Senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz.
“We conservatives are conservative in the way we make approaches. The gunfight’s not over until the last shot’s fired,” Flores told the Express-News after Gallego conceded stating in a phone call, “The last shot’s been fired.”
According the Secretary of State’s website, Flores won with 53 percent of the vote to Gallego’s 47 percent with 44,487 ballots cast.
The seat was held for decades by former Senate Veteran Carlos Uresti until he was indicted and convicted of 11 felonies this February putting the special election into play for the District 19 Senate seat.
