‘Purple Hays’ voted blue

Republicans maintained control of the Texas state government, retaining the offices of governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, comptroller and other top-level positions along with control of the state House and Senate. Republicans also came out ahead in Hays County’s three commissioners races, and in several races in Hays County — including district attorney, district clerk, county treasurer, county surveyor and several judicial races — Republicans ran unopposed. Yet the numbers show that overall, Hays County voted blue in the Nov. 6 midterm election.

The Texas Tribune took note of the shift, mentioning Hays County in an analysis of suburban areas of Texas that flipped to blue — or noticeably less red — in Tuesday’s senate race between Democrat Beto O’Rourke and Republican incumbent Ted Cruz. Williamson County, north of Austin, and Fort Bend County, outside of Houston, favored O’Rourke, as did Hays County — by about a 15 percent margin. 

According to figures from the county elections office, more Hays County residents voted straight-ticket Democrat than straight-ticket Republican. A Democrat, Ruben Becerra, won the county judge seat by more than 2,000 votes over his Republican opponent, Will Conley. Democrat Elaine Hanson Cardenas defeated incumbent Republican Liz Q. Gonzalez for county clerk by about 5,000 votes. Democrat Erin Zwiener, who won the race for State Representative District 45, received about 7 percent more votes in Hays County than her opponent, Republican Ken Strange. 

Even in the races where Republicans prevailed overall, Hays County favored Democratic candidates. Hays County voters favored Democrat Joseph Kopser over Republican Chip Roy in the U.S. Representative District 21 race by about a 7 percent margin, though Roy ultimately defeated Kopser. In the State Senate District 25 race, about 2 percent more Hays County voters cast ballots for Democrat Steven Kling than for Republican incumbent Donna Campbell, but Campbell won her district overall. In the races for governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general, more Hays County voters cast ballots for Democrats than for Republicans. In the races for state comptroller and General Land Office commissioner, Hays favored the Democrats by about a 6 percent margin, while an approximate 7 percent margin separated the candidates for agriculture commissioner and railroad commissioner. In the attorney general’s race, Hays County favored Democrat Justin Nelson over Ken Paxton by about 12 percent.

An exception is the race for U.S. Representative District 25, where Hays County voters favored the Republican candidate, Roger Williams, by about a 6 percent margin over Democratic candidate Julie Oliver.