They’re still counting votes in Arizona, Pennsylvania and … Tarrant County. The latest vote totals for Tarrant County show that former Vice President Joe Biden won the county over President Trump.
It’s a narrow victory if it holds up, 49.22% or 403,698 total votes to Trump’s 49.14% and 403,271 votes. It’s likely cold comfort for many Democrats who thought they had everything lined up for the oft-touted “Blue Wave.” But like the other “Blue Waves” in the past, this one barely got anyone’s feet wet. It put a scare in a few candidates, some of whom didn’t tout their Republican party credentials as much as in the past, but many Democrats expected to snag a statewide office, flip the Texas House and gather up some new seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.
As TCU Professor Jim Riddlesperger told me: “Of course, Democrats are very disappointed because they thought that this was the year it was going to flip, and that’s not just Texas Democrats, but it’s also the national Democratic Party,” he said. “And so, the Democrats are very disappointed in their results from Texas, and this year is… I guess the large message in this year’s election is status quo.”
Following Biden and Trump in Tarrant County votes was Libertarian candidate Jo Jorgensen who received 1.25% of the presidential vote in Tarrant County. Jorgensen has some local ties as she received a B.S. in in psychology from Baylor University (1979) and a master’s degree in business administration from Southern Methodist University (1980).
Fries and liquor
Besides the election, what were Americans thinking about on Tuesday, Nov. 3? Well, how about fries and liquor? According to Google Search, searches for “Fries near me” and “liquor store near me” were at record highs on Tuesday evening. Delaware, Biden’s home, was the state with the highest percentage of “fries near me” searches. Texas was ranked seventh for searches for “fries near me.”
Delaware again won the top prize for searches for “liquor store near me,” but Texas was way down the list at No. 23. Maybe we just know where our liquor stores are located.
Want a little more election breakdown?
Here’s a bit from the Associated Press about Texas voters: Voters in Texas gave President Donald Trump its 38 electoral votes while holding negative views about the country’s direction, according to an expansive AP survey of the American electorate.
The race between Trump and Democratic rival Joe Biden concluded Tuesday as the nation remains in the throes of a global public health crisis and mired in the economic downturn it brought on. AP VoteCast found that nearly three-fifths of Texas voters said the U.S. is headed in the wrong direction and about two-fifths said it is on the right track.
AP called Texas for Trump in the presidential race.
Here’s a snapshot of who voted and what matters to them, based on preliminary results from AP VoteCast, a nationwide survey of about 133,000 voters and nonvoters – including 3,888 voters and 792 nonvoters in Texas – conducted for The Associated Press by NORC at the University of Chicago.
Trump vs Biden
In the race for president, Biden led Trump among voters under 45 but Trump was preferred among older voters.
Both Black voters and Latino voters were more likely to favor Biden. Trump had an advantage over Biden among white voters.
Republican presidential candidates have won the state going back 40 years, but shifting suburbs and a booming population had raised Democrats’ hopes.
Corbin Clark, 29, a forklift driver, said Tuesday was the first time he had ever voted. Clark voted for Biden at a community center in Acres Homes, a historically African-American neighborhood in northwest Houston.
Clark said he didn’t know why he hadn’t previously voted.
“My momma got on my case,” Clark said as he laughed. “She told me I needed to go vote and use my voice.”
Voters in cities were more likely to prefer Biden. Trump had an advantage among voters in small towns and rural areas. Suburban voters were divided between Trump and Biden.
Frissons
All that election talk may have given you the frissons, as the Cajuns say. Frissons is basically French for the chills or goosebumps.
Since I titled this column after a Louisiana dish, how about some Louisiana jokes? You’ll laugh ”I gha-rawn-tee!” as Cajun humorist Justin Wilson used to say.
What is the loneliest swamp in Louisiana?
Bayou Self.
This is a Louisiana version of one of my dad’s favorite jokes:
A Texas Biologist
A Texas biologist, who discovered that the life of a porpoise could be prolonged indefinitely if it were fed a steady diet of seagulls, has been arrested at the Louisiana border. He faces charges of transporting gulls across state lines for immortal porpoises.
A Cajun, an LSU Tiger, and the mob (apparently LSU fans have the same rap as Aggies used to have in Texas)
A Louisiana sheriff hear’s tell of dog fighting going on. He deputizes a few good ol’ boys to figure out who is behind the dog fighting undercover.
They come back to report and say it was a Cajun, an LSU Tiger football fan, and the mob.
Sheriff: Why do you think a Cajun is involved?
Good ol’ boys: Someone was dumb enough to enter a duck into the dog fight!
Sheriff: How do you know there is an LSU football fan involved?
Good ol’ boys: Well, someone bet on the duck
Sheriff: O.K. but how do you know the mob is involved?
Good ol’ boys: The damn duck won!