“Saturday is election day in the special election to replace the late U.S. Rep. Ron Wright, R-Arlington. The polls closed at 7 p.m. Central time,” the Texas Tribune reports. “Twenty-three candidates are on the ballot, meaning a runoff is highly likely. As long as no one receives a majority of the vote, the top two candidates will face off in a runoff for the seat. Two big questions loom in the race: Will any Democrats make the runoff in the longtime GOP-held seat? And what impact will Donald Trump’s late endorsement have?”
Also, this race is a perfect example of what drives me up a wall in these runoff races. Of the 23 candidates running, ten of them are Democrats. If you want to win in these runoff elections then the party has to put its foot down and talk the less competitive candidates off the ballot. Early election results suggest the runoff will be between two Republicans because the second, third and fourth place finishers on the Democratic side are basically acting as spoilers and knocking the leading Democrat out of the running.
Follow the results on the Texas Tribune elections page (scroll down to the bottom to see the candidates and vote totals)