Ted Cruz, left, and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst speak during a U.S. Senate candidate debate on Jan. 12. (Photos by Bob Daemmrich/Texas Tribune )
by AMAN BATHEJA and JAY ROOT
Texas Tribune
Texans will have nine more weeks of watching Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and former Texas Solicitor General Ted Cruz battle to succeed U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, as Dewhurst was unable to convert his considerable money advantage and name ID into an outright win in Tuesday’s Texas primary.
At the top of the ballot, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney clinched his party’s presidential nomination, thanks to the vote in Texas. Several GOP candidates remained on the ballot even though they had suspended their campaigns.
In the highest-profile race of the primary, Dewhurst led in votes but fell short of avoiding a runoff. Cruz received about a third of the vote, followed by former Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert and former ESPN analyst Craig James.
Dewhurst said Tuesday night that his lead over Cruz is proof that out-of-state groups couldn’t sway Texas voters.
“Tonight is a clear message from the voters to the Washington insiders and special interests: Don’t mess with Texas,” Dewhurst told supporters in Houston. “Texans want to elect their own United States senator.”
Also in Houston, Cruz said the runoff is a clear signal that Dewhurst took the state’s Republican voters for granted, citing dozens of candidate forums that Dewhurst opted not to attend. He invited Dewhurst to agree to five debates before the runoff.
“Now in this first round, which was supposed to be the only round, my opponent made a decision that the people didn’t matter. ... So I hope in the second round, the establishment has learned its lesson,” Cruz said.
Democrats are also headed to a July 31 runoff in the Senate race. Former state Rep. Paul Sadler will face off against educator Grady Yarbrough.
In the GOP presidential race, there were nine options for voters to choose from, including “uncommitted,” but Romney took about 70 percent of the vote in early returns. He received more than 100 delegates with about 90 percent of the precincts reporting.
U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Lake Jackson, came in a distant second place, and Rick Santorum placed third. Gov. Rick Perry, who ended his presidential campaign in January, had his name removed from the Texas ballot.
“I am honored that Americans across the country have given their support to my candidacy, and I am humbled to have won enough delegates to become the Republican Party’s 2012 presidential nominee,” Romney said in a written statement. “Our party has come together with the goal of putting the failures of the last three and a half years behind us.”
Veteran U.S. Rep. Silvestre Reyes, D-El Paso, first elected in 1996, was the only incumbent congressman not re-elected Tuesday. He was defeated by Beto O’Rourke, who avoided a runoff in the Democratic primary for Congressional District 16.
