A sign points voters into the University of North Texas Gateway Center polling location on Nov. 8, 2022. Photo by Maria Crane
Many Republican incumbents managed to keep their seats amid the 2022 midterm elections, including Texas Governor incumbent Greg Abbott, who pulled ahead in the gubernatorial race against Democratic candidate Beto O’Rourke.
Gov. Abbott campaigned largely on property tax reform, defense of the 2nd amendment and border security. Even as O’Rourke fundraised at record-breaking levels for his Democratic campaign, Gov. Abbott secured an 11 percent lead over him. With Abbott’s third term confirmed, state focus will stay on initiatives started by his office, including Operation Lone Star and additional property tax reform.
Incumbents Dan Patrick and Ken Paxton also won their third terms as lieutenant governor and attorney general respectively. Patrick secured a 10.4 percent lead and Paxton secured a 9.9 percent lead, maintaining a Republican-controlled state government in Texas. Paxton’s race was considered to be one of the more competitive due to the legal troubles the attorney general has faced, but he managed to gain a substantial lead over his opponent Rochelle Garza, a Democratic candidate whose campaign focused largely on civil, voting and workers rights.
Several other key races in Texas government further cemented the conservative supermajority with the offices of Land Commissioner, Agriculture Commissioner and Comptroller going to Republican candidates.
Within the U.S. House of Representatives, the Texas State House and Texas Senate, all incumbents from both parties kept their spots. Republican control over every part of the state legislature remains.
With Republicans maintaining influence over large portions of the state’s government, controversial policies promised earlier in the year will inevitably be introduced at the start of the next legislative session in January. Among them is Lt. Gov. Patrick’s proposed version of a “Don’t Say Gay” bill, similar to a bill passed in Florida that coined the phrase.
While conclusive Texas-wide Election Day voter turnout data is unavailable at time of publication, early voting turnout saw a significant drop as compared to the 2018 midterm election, according to unofficial data from the Texas Secretary of State. The availability of official voter turnout numbers will confirm or deny predictions that the Gen Z vote will be significantly larger than usual younger voter turnout.
In Denton County, voter turnout was 52.25 percent, according to Denton County.
Andy Eads won the County Judge election with 59.46 percent of the vote, leaving Fabian Thomas trailing behind with 40.54 percent of the vote. Some of Eads top priorities include attracting high quality jobs and improving transportation in the county. Thomas wanted to focus on issues such as education, the economy and road expansion and development.
Denton voters found two propositions on their ballot this November. Both propositions passed with an overwhelming majority. Proposition A passed 74.1 percent to 25.9 percent, and Proposition B passed 71.3 percent to 28.65 percent, according to Denton County.
Proposition A
The Denton County Commissioners Court discussed and considered the addition of the bond election for the November ballot in a meeting held on August 16.
Proposition A, also called the Transportation Road Improvement Program, will fund over 119 projects in Denton county. The funding will go to projects such as state highways, improvements to safety and county roads and bridges.
With the growing population of Denton, the city is hoping to utilize this proposition to improve transportation for current and future residents.
Anticipated projects can be viewed on dentoncounty.gov
Proposition B
Proposition B, written by Decriminalize Denton, passed 71.35 percent to 28.65 percent. The ordinance seeks to deprioritize enforcement of low-level marijuana charges by Denton Police. It specifies that marijuana can still be seized but “prohibits paraphernalia charges from being issued in lieu of a possession charge – a current policy of Denton Police.” The ordinance also prohibits use of city funds to test for THC and police using the smell of marijuana as probable cause for search and seizure.
Recreational marijuana use remains illegal in Texas, which was one of the concerns Denton City Manager Sara Hensley brought up about the ordinance’s enforcement. The ordinance does not distinguish between adults and minors and does not specify whether it will take effect in school zones and drug-free zones.