Flores, Gallego head for runoff in SD19 special election

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Republican Pete Flores, a retired Texas game warden, finished atop an eight-candidate field Tuesday in the state Senate District 19 special election, putting him into a runoff with Democrat Pete Gallego, a former U.S. and state representative.

With 100 percent of precincts reporting, Flores topped Gallego, 34 to 29 percent.

The Democratic field, split between four candidates, proved fractured enough to keep state Rep. Roland Gutierrez out of the runoff. The San Antonio Democrat drew just 24 percent of the vote despite campaigning for the seat since early 2017 and, dating back to Jan. 1 of that year, raising more than $500,000. He spent about $80 per vote.

Flores’ campaign estimated Gallego and Gutierrez combined to outspend him by a 10-1 margin.

Convicted felon Carlos Uresti last represented the district, but he resigned from the Senate in June, the same month a jury convicted him of 11 felony counts including fraud and money laundering. In a losing effort for his older brother’s seat, state Rep. Tomás Uresti, D-San Antonio, received just 3 percent of the vote. He also lost re-election to his House District 118 seat in March.

Meanwhile, Flores heads into the runoff with the backing of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who is hoping to strengthen his hold on the Texas Senate. At stake is a three-fifths supermajority in the 31-seat upper chamber, where Republicans outnumber Democrats 20 to 10.

“I've known Pete Gallego for over 20 years. We've been friends through the years. I have the highest respect for Pete Gallego,” Flores said from his Election Night party at a South Side Mexican restaurant. “But his philosophy is contrary to mine. He is a liberal Democrat, I'm a conservative Republican.”

Flores, 58, also received a last-minute endorsement from Gov. Greg Abbott, along with backing from Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz. Their support likely contributed to Flores’ 48 percent share of the vote on Election Day, 21 points better than his early vote draw.

During the campaign, Gutierrez and Gallego traded punches over topics including Gutierrez’s tax liens and forfeitures and Gallego’s apparent residency outside the district. Tomás Uresti also focused his attacks on Gutierrez, and some speculated he simply entered the race to divert votes from Gutierrez, who represents House District 119 in Bexar County.

Gutierrez conceded the race shortly before 9:45 p.m.

“We started in 5th place and came as close as you can get to making the runoff,” he said in a statement. “I'm so proud of my team and grateful to the folks all over this district who supported us. My work continues in the Texas House. We're going to get back to work on our legislative agenda and make sure we are ready for the next session.”

Gallego was not available for comment at press time.

The 35,000-square-mile district runs west from Bexar County past Alpine and Pecos, covering 400 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border and all or parts of 17 counties. It went to Abbott by 0.1 percent in his 2014 win over Democrat Wendy Davis, but Uresti won his elections by 15 and 19 points.

Though Gutierrez won Bexar County with 33 percent of the vote, he was outperformed in the West Texas counties by Flores and Gallego.

But Flores won the Election Day vote in Bexar County with 41 percent after receiving just 18 percent there during early voting. He won Medina County with 69 percent of the vote, compared to Gutierrez’s 5 percent showing there.

Gallego, 56, won 63 percent in Brewster, his home county, and won Maverick County with 42 percent.

Rounding out the ballot were Republicans Jesse “Jay” Alaniz and Carlos Antonio Raymond, Democrat Charlie Urbina Jones and Libertarian Tony Valdivia. None of the candidates received more than 3.5 percent of the vote.

Abbott called a special election for the seat on June 20, two days after Uresti, 54, announced his resignation from the Texas Senate. He received a 12-year prison sentence June 26, and was ordered to pay $6.3 million in restitution to the investors he defrauded in a Ponzi scheme.

Jasper Scherer is a staff writer in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. Read him on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | jscherer@express-news.net | Twitter: @jaspscherer