AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — While all eyes in Texas are on the unexpectedly close U.S. Senate race, further down the ballot Tuesday are races that could determine control of Congress and end a Democratic drought for statewide offices.
Here’s what you need to know:
CONGRESSIONAL BATTLEGROUNDS
Democrats need to pick up 23 seats to retake the House, and Texas could help them get there.
Most vulnerable are three Republican incumbents whose districts went for Hillary Clinton in 2016: Pete Sessions in Dallas, John Culberson in Houston and Will Hurd in San Antonio.
It could also be a big night for women in Texas, where men hold all but three of the state’s 36 seats in Congress. Among candidates worth watching are Democrat MJ Hegar, a veteran whose viral campaign ads have forced 16-year GOP incumbent John Carter to defend his typically safe district near Austin.
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ABBOTT CLOSING IN ON SECOND TERM
Republican Gov. Greg Abbott is poised to win another four years following one of the most uneventful Texas gubernatorial races in decades. Democrat Lupe Valdez, the former Dallas County sheriff, barely raised money and her campaign was nonexistent to many voters.
But Abbott’s real test comes after Election Day, when his power will be tested in a divided Republican-controlled Legislature that shrugged off many of his demands before going home.
HISTORY IN THE MAKING
Texas’ booming Hispanic population is on pace to outnumber white residents as soon as 2022.
But only now is Texas on the verge of electing a Latina to Congress for the first time, and two are likely headed to Washington: Democrats Veronica Escobar of El Paso and Sylvia Garcia of Houston.
History would also be made if Democrat Gina Ortiz Jones defeats Hurd, a two-time incumbent, in the state’s only swing district that runs along the U.S.-Mexico border. Jones would be Texas’ first first Filipina-American and openly gay member of Congress.
TEXAS’ INDICTED AG SEEKING RE-ELECTION
Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has spent nearly his entire term in office under indictment for securities fraud and could be re-elected before his case is resolved.
Democrat Justin Nelson has staked his campaign on reminding voters that Paxton still faces trial over allegations that he duped investors in a startup before becoming Texas’ top law enforcement officer.
But Paxton, who has pleaded not guilty, has regained his footing within the GOP as his criminal case has languished in court. Paxton’s wife, Angela Paxton, is also on the cusp of joining the state Senate in her first run for office.
TURNOUT COULD SET NEW RECORD
Like other states in what has been a deeply divisive election year, Texas shattered early voting records in big cities for a midterm election. Fewer than 5 million voters in Texas cast ballots in the 2014 and 2010 midterms, but this cycle could be closer to a high-turnout presidential year.
Democratic Rep. Beto O’Rourke needs to bring out historically unlikely voters to unseat Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, whose campaign has made little overtures outside his conservative base.
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For AP’s complete coverage of the U.S. midterm elections: http://apne.ws/APPolitics