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Lujan (R) appears to win #HD118 special election runoff, 51-49, with all vote centers reporting #txlege
— Patrick Svitek (@PatrickSvitek) November 3, 2021
Republican John Lujan wins special election to flip Texas House seat in San Antonio
SAN ANTONIO — Republican John Lujan has won the special election runoff for Texas House District 118, flipping the Democrat-friendly seat in San Antonio. The victory by Lujan gives Republicans an early win in their drive to make new inroads in South Texas.
With all vote centers reporting Tuesday night, Lujan was leading Democrat Frank Ramirez 51.2% to 48.8%, according to unofficial results. Lujan briefly held the seat in 2016, while Ramirez is a former staffer for the San Antonio City Council and at the Texas Legislature.
“I’m a blessed man to win this for the second time, and to be the only Republican ever to win this seat, I think, is really important for us down here,” Lujan told The Texas Tribune as he left his election night party. He called his victory part of a “big movement … for conservatism” in the Hispanic community.
One group we haven’t heard too much about tonight are Latino voters, who shifted toward Trump in 2020. But a special election taking place in Texas tonight might shed some light on whether those shifts have staying power.
This is a state House race in a district where 73 percent of residents are Hispanic, and where Beto O’Rourke won by 20 points in 2018 and Biden won by 14 points in 2020.
Tonight a Republican won the seat 51-49.
Source: CITIZEN FREE PRESS
