Texas Gov. Greg Abbott won a third term, CNN projects, fending off former Rep. Beto O’Rourke in a race in which Democrats had hoped to challenge Republican dominance in Austin.
Abbott, who is seen by some within the Republican Party as a possible 2024 presidential contender, has survived O’Rourke’s criticism of his management of the state’s power grid, his response to mass shootings, including one at an elementary school in Uvalde, and of his opposition. on abortion rights.
Abbott’s victory underscores the extent to which Republicans remain dominant in Texas — benefiting in part from improved performance with Latino voters.
Democrats have long hoped that Texas’ growing and increasingly diverse urban centers and suburbs would provide the party with a path to competitiveness in the biggest red state on America’s political map.
O’Rourke came close in his 2018 Senate race against Republican Ted Cruz to become the first Democrat to be elected statewide in Texas since 1994. But polls this year showed him trailing more than Abbott, as Republicans hammered Democrats across the country over rising inflation and gas prices.
