Governor Rick Perry extended his record setting control of the governor's mansion to an unprecedented third four-year term by defeating Bill White in an election that appeared to be a lot closer than it panned out to be.
Former Houston Mayor Bill White was supposed to offer the Democrats their best chance to beat the GOP in 15 years. Partial voting returns from across the state show he lost to Perry by 13 percent in a midterm election that turned into a Republican landslide.
Underneath the chandeliers of the Driskill Hotel, a mass of dreary Democratic candidates and supporters watched Tuesday night’s election results as Republicans kept their hold on every statewide office.
As Republicans trounced Democrats nationwide on Tuesday night — reclaiming control of the U.S. House of Representatives — two Texas Democratic incumbents also lost their bids for re-election. But Democrats maintained a narrow majority in the U.S. Senate.
The influence of the State Board of Education’s conservative bloc, which has dominated the board’s politics for two years, may have taken a hit Tuesday night, after a group of six more moderate Republicans and two Democrats were elected to the 15-member board.
With polls opening on Election Day at 7 a.m., Democrats and Republicans have spent the past several days dueling over allegations of voter intimidation in heavily minority precincts in Harris and Travis counties.
With 51 percent of precincts reporting, CNN projects incumbent Republican Rick Perry as winner of the Texas gubernatorial race over Democrat Bill White.