Beto O’Rourke won Tarrant County in 2018, and Joe Biden won in 2020. It was a different story Tuesday night.
FORT WORTH, Texas — For years, Tarrant County was a Republican stronghold as one of the largest conservative counties in the country.
Then Beto O’Rourke won the county in 2018 , edging Ted Cruz in the U.S. Senate election, despite losing statewide. And in 2020, Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump by about 2,000 votes, winning 49.31% to 49.09%.
The recent elections indicated Tarrant County might be shifting purple. And it made it a crucial county for O’Rourke and other Democrats vying for upsets Tuesday night.
But the results put that purple shift on hold.
With 100% of precincts reporting, Gov. Greg Abbott beat O’Rourke by about 26,000 votes — 303,218 to 278,899, a win of 51.35% to 47.24%.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick also scored a victory over challenger Mike Collier, winning 49.72% to 47.36%.
Ken Paxton (Attorney General), Glenn Hegar (Comptroller), Dawn Buckingham (Land Commissioner), Sid Miller (Agriculture Commissioner), and Wayne Christian (Railroad Commissioner) also scored Republican victories in Tarrant County.
Here’s the breakdown for statewide races in Tarrant County:
Governor Election Results
Greg Abbott: 303,218 votes (51.35%)
Beto O’Rourke: 278,899 votes (47.24%)
Lt. Governor Election Results
Dan Patrick: 292,243 votes (49.72%)
Mike Collier: 278,352 votes (47.36%)
Attorney General Election Results
Ken Paxton: 291,002 votes (49.65%)
Rochelle Garza: 274,278 votes (46.85%)
Comptroller Election Results
Glenn Hegar: 310,397 votes (53.11%)
Janet T. Dudding: 259,071 votes (44.33%)
Land Commissioner Election Results
Dawn Buckingham: 309,633 votes (53.18%)
Jay Kleberg: 261,392 votes (44.9%)
Agriculture Commissioner Results
Sid Miller: 310,784 votes (53.28%)
Susan Hays: 272,557 votes (46.72%)
Railroad Commissioner Results
Wayne Christian: 304,325 votes (52.24%)
Luke Warford: 255,322 (43.83%)
Gov. Greg Abbott Post-Election Speech:
Beto O’Rourke Post-Election Speech: