Houston Public Media Live Blogs

I agree. Even as Republicans have expressed more and more confidence in the final days of their races, Abbott has been relatively measured.

And of course Rick Perry is done.

He didn't need to and he was smart not too.

Here's Battleground Texas' statement on the results:

Statement of Jenn Brown, Battleground Texas Executive Director

~ On Election Day results in Texas ~

FORT WORTH – Battleground Texas Executive Director Jenn Brown issued the following statement regarding tonight’s election results:
“We applaud Wendy Davis, Leticia Van de Putte, and the many Democrats who waged strong campaigns this election to represent Texans and their families. And we congratulate the Blue Star Project candidates on their hard-fought campaigns for the Texas Legislature. We look forward to continuing to support their efforts to build a stronger Texas.
“While the losses this evening are tough, both Wendy and Leticia have done so much to move the ball forward for Texas Democrats. Not only did they run impressive campaigns that inspired Texans from every region of the state to make their voices heard at the polls – their courage paved the way for a talented slate of Democrats to run for office this year despite 20 years of Republican rule.
“The legacy Wendy and Leticia leave behind – including the nearly 34,000 Team Wendy and Battleground Texas volunteers who reached out to voters on the phones and at the doors 7.5 million times, the unprecedented data infrastructure, and the cutting-edge digital strategies that helped connect Texans in every community – will continue to have an impact as this movement grows in the years to come.
“As we’ve said from the beginning, change in Texas won’t happen overnight. But we’re proud of the progress we made together this year – and Battleground Texas is just getting started. We have no doubt our grassroots movement will ensure Democrats win many more victories in the future.”

Did women mainly vote red?

Seth, we've been talking a lot about the top of the ticket. Is anything catching your eye down the ballot? Or is it all playing out as you expected it to?

That's a good question; without even looking I can assure you that Anglo women did!

We always knew that'd be a close race. Did you expect Gallego to hold on to it at the end of the day?

The 23rd is all about turnout since it's 70% Hispanic.

If the GOP take it, they'll probably lose it in 2016 when Hispanic turnout is higher.

That's Evan Drellich, our Astros writer. Everyone's a political pundit tonight.

Seth, why do you predict Hispanic turnout will be higher in 2016?

And we are currently in a very interesting period of American politics where the GOP gets overly excited about their performance in midterms and then come back to reality in presidential years.

Absolutely. I was going to ask you about that next. Obviously Texas Republicans are emboldened tonight. But the national party still has challenges.