2019 United States Senate special election in Texas
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A special election for the United States Senate in Texas took place on June 4th and June 18th to fill the U.S. Senate vacancy left by the resignation of Senator James Goldwater. The winner of the special election is set to serve until January 3, 2025 in accordance with Texas law. Democratic candidate Suraj Shah defeated the Republican, Karen Brookshire by a margin of 0.6% with 46,062 votes separating them. Suraj Shah became the first Democrat to win a Texas Senate Election since Lloyd Bentsen in 1998.
In mid-April, 2019, Senator James Goldwater engaged in a controversial interview which later triggered his resignation and a special election. The Governor of Texas scheduled a special election on June 4th with a top-two runoff scheduled for June 18th. In accordance with Texas State Law, all candidates appear on the same ballot and indicate party preference, the top two-contenders subsequently proceed to a runoff. Two Democrats, Cynthia Gonzales-Rogers, the President of Rice University and Congressman Suraj Shah, of Texas' 9th Congressional District competed for a spot in the top two as did four Republicans, evangelist Justice Randall Cramp, businesswoman Karen Brookshire, Congressman Gordon De Lange and President of the Texas Gunowners Association, Mark Allen. In the June 4 blanket primary, Suraj Shah and Karen Brookshire advanced to a runoff.
At 9.20pm CDT, June 18, 2019, the Associated Press and affiliates called the race for Shah, although pressure mounted on Brookshire to challenge the results. Shah became the first Democrat since 1994 to win a statewide election in Texas.
Background
Primary
Republican Candidates
- Karen Brookshire
- Randall Cramp
- Gordon De Lange
Democratic Candidates
- Suraj Shah
- Cynthia Gonzales-Rogers
Withdrawn Candidates
- Mark Allen (No Endorsement)
Endorsements
- Karen Brookshire
- Howard Frankston (Senator from TX)
- Jonah Prendergast (Governor of WV, Republican candidate for president in 2020)
- Nathaniel Richardson (Governor of NC, 2020 Republican presidential candidate and eventual nominee)
- Diane Paulson (Representative from Maine's Second Congressional District, Republican candidate for president in 2020)
Debates
There was one primary debate featuring all candidates except Mark Allen who had at this time withdrawn.
Results
| 2019 United States Senate special election in Texas, Nonpartisan Blanket Primary | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Democratic | Suraj Shah | 2,686,285 | 34.55% | |
| Republican | Karen Brookshire | 1,566,675 | 20.15% | |
| Republican | Randy Cramp | 1,534,020 | 19.73% | |
| Democratic | Cynthia Rogers-Gonzales | 1,001,428 | 12.88% | |
| Republican | Gordon De Lange | 674,098 | 8.67% | |
| Libertarian | Mark Roscoe | 129,844 | 1.67% | |
| Independent | Al Garcia Hernandez | 79,306 | 1.02% | |
| Greens | Jiro Takama | 69,198 | 0.89% | |
| Independent | Leticia Watson | 34,210 | 0.44% | |
| Total Votes | 7,775,064 | |||
General Election
Debates
There was one election debate before the Runoff election, hosted by Ian M. Smart of CNN. Taking place on June 12, 2019 in El Paso the debate included both major party candidates eligible for the runoff.
Results
The race was called at approximately 22:29PM EDT by all major news networks.
The election of Suraj Shah was considered a major upset. It was the first time a Democrat has won an election for U.S. Senate since Lloyd Bentsen in 1988, and the first Democrat to win an election for state-wide office in Texas in the 21st century. Moreover, Suraj Shah became the first non-white Senator from the state of Texas.
| 2019 United States Senate special election in Texas | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | Swing | |
| Democratic | Suraj Shah | 3,891,063 | 50.304% | +1.974% | |
| Republican | Karen Brookshire | 3,844,001 | 49.696% | - 1.194% | |
| Total Votes | 7,735,064 | ||||