Here’s What Happened in the Texas Runoff Elections

Texans voted in runoff elections on Tuesday for a number of offices, with establishment candidates emerging victorious from two House Republican primaries, and the speaker of the State House narrowly surviving an insurgent challenge from a Trump-backed Republican.

Here’s what happened:

U.S. House District 23

Representative Tony Gonzales, a Republican who recently called some far-right members of his party “scumbags,” barely survived a challenge from his right after being forced into a runoff. He fended off his primary opponent, Brandon Herrera, a gun rights activist, by roughly 400 votes.

Mr. Herrera had received less than 25 percent of the vote in an earlier five-person primary, but then surged to 49 percent in the runoff on Tuesday.

Mr. Gonzales was first elected in 2020 to represent a swing district along the border, but the seat was made more solidly Republican through redistricting. And Mr. Gonzales has bucked the party line on some issues: He voted for bipartisan gun control legislation after the massacre at a school in Uvalde, Texas, and for a gay marriage bill. He also once opposed hard-line immigration policies, and the Texas Republican Party censured him — but he has since shifted toward them.

Mr. Herrera, a YouTuber who calls himself “the AK guy” after the AK-47 rifle, had consolidated much of the vote that went to multiple right-wing candidates who opposed Mr. Gonzales in the first round. He had also been endorsed by Representative Matt Gaetz of Florida and other members of the House Freedom Caucus.

But House Republican leaders stuck by Mr. Gonzales, and their support may have in part rescued Mr. Gonzales in a race that hung by a knife’s edge into early Wednesday morning.

U.S. House District 28

Jay Furman, a retired Navy officer, won the Republican primary in the 28th District, which stretches from the outskirts of San Antonio to the southern border. He will challenge Representative Henry Cuellar, a centrist Democrat who has been indicted on bribery charges.

In a four-person primary, Mr. Furman won about 45 percent of the vote and Mr. Garza won 27 percent to advance to the runoff.

Both candidates had made immigration central to their campaigns, echoing former President Donald J. Trump’s rhetoric about an “invasion” and his calls for a sweeping crackdown. Mr. Garza had also emphasized that he was born and raised in the district.

In a separate race on Tuesday, Mr. Cuellar’s sister — Rosie Cuellar, a former county tax assessor — was defeated in a Democratic primary for a state House seat. That loss could be a sign of how the Cuellar name has been tarnished by his indictment.

Texas House District 21

The speaker of the Texas House, Dade Phelan, edged out his Trump-backed opponent in the Republican primary for his seat, winning by fewer than 400 votes.

David Covey, a former county party leader, had nearly unseated the top Republican in the Texas House despite having never run for state office before. He was backed by several wealthy donors and endorsed by Mr. Trump, whose blessing carries significant influence in Republican primaries. In the first round of voting, Mr. Covey had narrowly led Mr. Phelan, 46 percent to 43 percent. In Tuesday’s runoff, Mr. Phelan took 50.7 percent of the vote.

The opposition to Mr. Phelan was driven in large part by the state attorney general, Ken Paxton, who was seeking revenge for the Texas House’s vote to impeach him on charges of corruption and abuse of office. Mr. Paxton was acquitted by the Texas Senate and had campaigned for Mr. Covey.