Hidalgo County voters stand in line to cast a ballot Tuesday outside the UTRGV Student Academic Center on the Edinburg campus. Angel Ballesteros/THE RIDER
Updated 1:10 PM March 7.
Tuesday’s unofficial results for the Hidalgo and Cameron County primary election show Democrat incumbent Joe Biden and Republican Donald J. Trump leading in the presidential nominee race in their respective parties.
The number of registered voters in Texas is 17,948,242. Hidalgo County has 430,512 registered voters and Cameron County, 231,260.
“The Democratic Party and Republican [Party] are the authority of the 2024 Joint March Primary Election,” Hilda Salinas, elections administrator for Hidalgo County wrote in an email to The Rider on Wednesday. “Therefore, as per the Texas Election Code, the county executive committee’s (for each party) canvass of the returns must take place on Thursday, March 14, 2024.”
Remi Garza, Cameron County elections administrator, told The Rider during a phone call Wednesday that Cameron County will canvass votes no later than March 14.
Hidalgo County
Voter turnout for the Democratic Party was 13.35% and for the Republican Party, 13.35%.
The unofficial total voters for Hidalgo County in the Democratic Party is 40,111 and the Republican Party 17,978
With 259 of 259 precincts reporting in the Democratic primary, Joe Biden led the race for president with 19,260 votes, followed by Armando “Mando” Perez-Serrato with 4,521 and Marianne Williamson with 1,598.
With 259 of 259 precincts reporting in the Republican primary, Donald J. Trump led the race for president with 15,662 votes, followed by Nikki Haley with 1,630 and Uncommitted with 217.
Alvaro Corral, an assistant professor in the Department of Political Science, said if Trump wins the election in November there will be major changes.
“I think that he learned his lesson in his first term,” Corral said. “He was frustrated anytime that he couldn’t enact the sorts of policies that he was trying to do, especially in immigration, and I think that he’s been very clear that he is willing and able to appoint people in the Department of Homeland Security … that will not challenge him and will do as they are told, as directed by him, especially in the area of immigration.”
For U.S. Sen., Roland Gutierrez led the Democratic ballot with 8,641 votes, followed by Mark Gonzalez with 7,889 and Colin Allred with 6,289.
On the Republican ballot for the same position, Ted Cruz led with 15,647 votes, followed by R.E. “Rufus” Lopez with 972 and Holland “Redd” Gibson with 900.
“In Texas, you know, Democrats had a little bit more to vote for [Tuesday], because, you know, Colin [Allred] versus Roland [Gutierrez] for the Texas [Senator] seat among Democrats to go up against Ted Cruz was a competitive race,” Corral said. “… It looks like Colin Allred is going to win that race. But still, I think there was a little bit more to vote for Texas Democrats [Tuesday], so we would expect a little bit more elevated turnout among them.”
For U.S. Rep. District 15, Michelle Vallejo led the race with 15,966 votes, followed by John Villarreal Rigney with 6,050.
On the Republican ballot for the same position, Monica De La Cruz led with 11,047 votes, followed by Vangela Churchill with 1,348.
For State Sen. District 20, Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa ran unopposed on the Democratic ballot with 20,374 votes.
For State Sen. District 27, Morgan LaMantia ran unopposed on the Democratic ballot with 8,073 votes.
On the Republican ballot for the same position, Adam Hinojosa ran unopposed with 4,027 votes.
For State Sen. District 35, Oscar Longoria ran unopposed on the Democratic ballot with 3,438 votes.
For State Sen. District 36, Sergio Muñoz Jr. ran unopposed on the Democratic ballot with 6,454 votes.
For State Rep. District 39, Armando “Mando” Martinez ran unopposed on the Democratic ballot with 6,267 votes.
On the Republican ballot for the same position, Jimmie Garcia ran unopposed with 3,025 votes.
For State Sen. District 40, Terry Canales ran unopposed on the Democratic ballot with 5,856 votes.
For State Sen. District 41, Boddy Guerra ran unopposed on the Democratic ballot with 6,921 votes.
On the Republican ballot for the same position, John “Doc” Robert Guerra ran unopposed with 5,207 votes.
For Sheriff, J.E. “Eddie” Guerra led the Democratic ballot with 28,062 votes, followed by Frank Guerrero with 8,865.
On the Republican ballot for the same position, Ezequiel “Zeik” Jurado III ran unopposed with 13,718 votes.
For County Chair, Richard Gonzalez ran unopposed on the Democratic ballot with 26,267 votes.
On the Republican ballot for the same position, Roberto Cantu Jr. led with 8,112 votes, followed by Lina Garza with 7,041.
Voters enter the Cameron County Courthouse, located at 954 E. Harrison St. in Brownsville, to cast a ballot in Tuesday’s primary election. Jesse Valencia/THE RIDER
Cameron County
Voter turnout for the Democratic Party was 8.19% and for the Republican Party, 6.42%.
The unofficial total voters for Cameron County in the Democratic Party is 18,999 and the Republican Party, 14,827.
Mark Kaswan, a professor in the Department of Political Science, said the expected voter turnout for both parties in Texas will be under 20%.
“Is this really a democracy where, you know, where so few people vote?” Kaswan asked.
For Cameron County, with 73 of 73 precincts reporting in the Democratic primary, incumbent Joe Biden led the race for president with 11,182 votes, followed by Armando “Mando” Perez-Serrato with 1,851 votes and Gabriel A. Cornejo with 1,676 votes.
With 49 of 49 precincts reporting in the Republican primary, Donald J. Trump led the race for president with 12,626 votes, followed by Nikki Haley with 1,559 votes and Uncommitted with 205 votes.
Kaswan said if Trump were reelected we can expect to see “a much heavier border reinforcement,” as well as “more wall, more razor wire.”
“The Trump Administration will probably endorse various measures that Greg Abbott has put into place,” he said. “… The razor wire, maybe the floating buoys in the river. They will reinstate the [Migrant Protection Protocols].”
Kaswan said the voter turnout for Democrats is down while the voter turnout for Republicans is higher than usual.
“Democrats are not very enthusiastic about Joe Biden,” he said. “Republicans, on the other hand, are very enthusiastic about Donald Trump. So, Republicans are much more motivated to turn out and show their support for [former] President Trump.”
For U.S. Sen., Roland Gutierrez led the Democratic ballot with 5,151 votes, followed by Colin Allred with 3,601 and Mark Gonzalez, 3,500.
On the Republican ballot for the same position, incumbent Ted Cruz led with 12,690 votes, followed by R.E. “Rufus” Lopez with 980 and Holland “Redd” Gibson with 674.
For State Rep., District 34, Vicente Gonzalez ran unopposed on the Democratic ballot, garnering 15,672 votes.
On the Republican ballot for the same position, Mayra Flores led with 12,147 votes, followed by Laura Cisneros with 1,145 votes and Mauro Garza with 745.
For State Rep., District 37, Alex Dominguez led the Democratic ballot with 1,735 votes, followed by Ruben Cortez Jr. with 1,667, Jonathan Gracia with 1,646 and Carol Lynn Sanchez with 1,240.
On the Republican ballot for the same position, incumbent Janie Lopez ran unopposed with 7,140 votes.
For Sheriff, Eric Garza led the Democratic ballot with 6,711 votes, followed by Manuel “Manny” Treviño with 4,808, Jesus Rosas Jr. with 3,970 and Ronnie Saenz with 2,777.
On the Republican ballot for the same position, Santiago “Jimmy” Manrrique ran unopposed with 11,488 votes.
Propositions
Republican Party voters gave the green light to 13 of 13 propositions, which includes issues such as eliminating all property taxes and ending public services for illegal immigrants.
Kaswan said the propositions are not official state policies but instead to gauge what issues are important to their voters.
“What they are is the party signaling to its voters what issues … they think are most important,” he said.
Proposition 1 asks Republican voters if Texas should eliminate all property taxes without increasing Texans’ overall burden. Statewide, 1,719,532 voters cast ballots in favor, while 491,726 cast votes against. In Hidalgo County, 14,924 voted in favor, while 2,405 voted against. In Cameron County, 11,998 voted in favor, while 2,192 voted against.
Proposition 4 asks Republican voters if the Texas Legislature should end all subsidies and public services, including in-state college tuition and enrollment in public schools for illegal aliens. Statewide, 1,975,034 voters cast ballots in favor, while 278,494 cast votes against. In Hidalgo County, 14,295 voted in favor, while 2,993 voted against. In Cameron County, 11,890 voted in favor, while 2,360 voted against.
Proposition 5 asks voters if Texas should urge the United States Congress not to grant any form of amnesty or a pathway to legalization for illegal aliens. Statewide, 1,868,438 voters cast ballots in favor, while 374,770 cast votes against. In Hidalgo County, 13,737 voted in favor, while 3,494 voted against. In Cameron County, 11,432 voted in favor, while 2,739 voted against.
Proposition 12 asks voters if the Texas Constitution should be amended to require proof of citizenship before any individual can be registered to vote. Statewide, 2,187,516 voters cast ballots in favor, while 88,499 cast votes against. In Hidalgo County, 16,750 voted in favor, while 635 voted against. In Cameron County, 13,769 voted in favor, while 561 voted against.
For a full list of election results and updates, visit cameroncountytx.gov/elections/ or hidalgocounty.us/105/Elections-Department.
–Rebeca Salinas, Isabela Balderas and Natalie Lapsley contributed to this report.
The UTRGV Student Academic Center on the Edinburg campus served as a polling location for Hidalgo County. Angel Ballesteros/THE RIDER
