TRI-COUNTY — Area early voting and election day turnouts for the March 5 primaries were lower this year for the primary elections than in 2020, the last time presidential candidates were on the ballot.
Presidio County’s turnout, with 4,327 registered voters, dropped from 46.29% in 2020 to 40% this year, and early voting dropped from 37.17% to 30.78%. (Vote totals are not official until counties canvas the election, but the numbers are not likely to change significantly, if at all.) The 2020 election did have a contested Democratic presidential race — then Vice President Joe Biden versus Sen. Bernie Sanders — which may have affected turnout. Presidio County voters went overwhelmingly for Sanders, 41.1% to Biden’s 16.6%. Trump had only minor challengers when the Texas primary took place in 2020 and took 96.7% of the vote.
Brewster County experienced a more dramatic drop. With 7,162 registered voters, turnout fell from 63.86% in 2020 to 27%. Early voting turnout was only 14.16%, down from 52.87% in 2020. Jeff Davis County, with 1,550 registered voters, also declined in turnout from 78.08% in 2020 to 45.99%.
Overall in Texas, a big decline in Democratic voter turnout resulted in a total drop in primary voters from 4.1 million (25.3%) to 3.2 million (18%). Republican turnout held steady, but Democratic turnout plummeted from 12.9% of registered voters to 5.4%
Brandon Rottinghaus, a political science professor at the University of Houston, told the Texas Tribune: “I think there is less enthusiasm for the big matchup in 2024, which is almost certain to be between former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden. We’ve been there, done that, and I think a lot of voters are kind of sitting on the sidelines until things change.”
US, regional and state races of note
Former Republican President Donald Trump bested contender Nicki Haley in all tri-county results: 85% to 6.7% in Presidio County; 76.9% to 2.7% in Brewster County; and 66.8% to 25.8% in Jeff Davis County.
In the Democratic primary race to challenge U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, Colin Allred came out on top and avoided a runoff in a crowded field with 58.8% of the vote. Roland Gutierrez came in second at 16.7%. However, Gutierrez came in first with 30% of the vote in Presidio County, with a second place finish by Mark Gonzales at 27%.
In U.S. House District 23 race, Republican incumbent Tony Gonzales took 45.1% of the vote across his district, but was forced into a runoff with second-place finisher Brandon Herrera with 24.7%. Gonzales will face the Democratic winner Santo Limon in November.
In Texas House District 74, Democrat Eddie Morales was uncontested and will face Republican primary winner Robert Garza in November. For Texas Senate District 29, Cesar Blanco was uncontested in the Democratic primary with no challenger in November.
For State Board of Education District 1, with outgoing incumbent Melissa Ortega, candidates were uncontested in both primaries. Democrat Gustavo Reveles will face Michael “Travis” Stephens in November.