Flores defeats Gallego in Senate District 19

Republican Pete Flores,R, after finding out he has taken second place behind Pete Fallen. On the left is Terry Beck, Larry Sitter,middle. Republican Pete Flores, a retired Texas game warden, is holding his SD19 election night watch party at Don Pedro Mexican Restaurant, 1526 SW Military Dr. on Tuesday, July 31, 2018. less Republican Pete Flores,R, after finding out he has taken second place behind Pete Fallen. On the left is Terry Beck, Larry Sitter,middle. Republican Pete Flores, a retired Texas game warden, is holding his SD19 ... more Photo: Ronald Cortes, Photo Correspondent Photo: Ronald Cortes, Photo Correspondent Image 1 of / 45 Caption Close Flores defeats Gallego in Senate District 19 1 / 45 Back to Gallery

Voters elected political newcomer Pete Flores to the Texas Senate on Tuesday, flipping a Democratic district red for the first time in 139 years and bolstering Republicans’ supermajority in the chamber ahead of the November elections.

A retired game warden, Flores defeated former state and U.S. Rep. Pete Gallego for the Senate District 19 seat after receiving backing from some of the state’s most prominent politicians, including Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, and U.S. Sens John Cornyn and Ted Cruz.

“We conservatives are conservative in the way we make approaches. The gunfight’s not over until the last shot’s fired,” Flores told the Express-News after Gallego conceded in a phone call just before 9 p.m. “The last shot’s been fired.”

SUBSCRIBERS: How a retired game warden defied odds in Senate District 19

According the Secretary of State’s website, Flores won with 53 percent of the vote to Gallego’s 47 percent with 44,487 ballots cast.

Flores and Gallego competed in Tuesday’s runoff after emerging from an eight-candidate field in first- and second-place, respectively, in July’s special election to replace former Sen. Carlos Uresti. The longtime lawmaker vacated his seat in June after being convicted of 11 felony charges.

In his victory speech, Flores reflected about the historic significance of his win and the job ahead.

“This district has not been Republican since Reconstruction. And in September of 2018, it’s Republican once again,” Flores told supporters. “The work starts tomorrow.”

Christian Archer, Gallego’s campaign strategist, said he was shocked by the results, adding that they weren’t able to generate as much excitement as the Republicans.

“I don’t have any regrets, but I have a lot of disappointment,” Archer said.

Flores’ win marked an incredible upset in a district that political observers said shouldn’t have been competitive for Republicans. Low turnout in special elections and high-level GOP interests in preserving a Senate supermajority helped push Flores across the line, they said.

“It will provide a completely unexpected gift for Republicans for the next legislative session,” said Mark Jones, a professor of political science at Rice University.

READ ALSO: Judge denies Texas GOP's request that could have kept Democrat off SD 19 ballot

Jones said Flores’ victory all but assured a Republican supermajority next year, which would allow Senate Republicans to bring bills to the floor without any Democratic support

“Tonight, I doubt anyone other than Pete Flores is happier than Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick,” Jones said.

Indeed, Patrick was jubilant at Flores’ victory party at Don Pedro’s restaurant on San Antonio’s Southwest Side.

“Tonight, you all just made history,” Patrick told supporters. “For the first time in history, we have 21 Republican senators. For the first time in history, we have a Hispanic Republican senator.”

Patrick, who spent around $175,000 on Flores’ campaign, said the supermajority was secured Tuesday night.

“This guy gives us a two-thirds majority,” he said.

Late Tuesday, the Republican Party of Texas also touted Flores’ win.

“Congratulations to Peter Flores on his stunning victory in SD 19 tonight — a thrilling win for Peter Flores, the citizens of SD 19 and Republicans across Texas,” Chairman James Dickey said in a statement.

More than 25,000 Texans voted in the early voting period and by mail before Tuesday. Some county election officials said they’ve seen higher turnout in the runoff than the special election a few months ago.

Brandon Rottinghaus, a professor of political science at the University of Houston and author of “Inside Texas Politics,” credited Gallego’s loss to complacency.

Earlier Tuesday, he said Flores’ candidacy energized state GOP leaders who saw the district as a potential steal.

In Medina County, a line started to form at the polling location in Castroville around 4:30 p.m.

Hilda Mendoza, the election judge there, said turnout was higher than expected, which she said was likely because the election pitted a Republican against a Democrat.

“It was an enormous ... increase” from the special election across Devine, Hondo and Castroville, Mendoza said.

Voters in the heavily-Republican district said they were confident Flores would win. Others said they did not want to elect Gallego, who previously represented the county.

“We’ve had Pete Gallego and I wasn’t happy with what he did before,” Marie Rowe said.

In Bexar County, Elections Administrator Jacque Callanen said turnout was relatively low, but impressive for a special election.

“They’re voting like crazy,” Callanen said.

At around 6:30 p.m., as pollsters were packing up “Vote Here” signs at Collier Elementary School in South San Antonio, Jose Duran cast his ballot for Gallego.

“The seat was empty. You have to fill it with somebody,” Duran said. He preferred Gallego because of his experience in government, he said.

Ruben Trejo, who also voted in the final hour, said the choice was simple: He’s a Democrat, so he also chose Gallego.

The last Republican to hold the seat was Andrew Phelps McCormick. According to the Legislative Library of Texas, he left office in 1879.