Numbers are in from Tuesday's primary runoff elections across the state. On a day that raised serious questions about the state's ability to hold an effective election during the COVID-19 pandemic, there were a few surprise wins and losses. Some mail ballots had yet to be counted early Wednesday morning. Because of this and issues with reporting by the Texas Secretary of State's office, which documents election results, these results remain unofficial and subject to change.

U.S. Senate

In the marquee race on the Democratic runoff ballot, U.S. Air Force veteran MJ Hegar defeated state Sen. Royce West (D-Dallas) 52% to 48%. Hegar will face Republican U.S. Sen. John Cornyn in the November election. Sen. West will continue to serve out his term as a state senator.

State Board of Education (SBOE)

Two SBOE primary races resulted in a runoff that concluded last night. Both races are for open seats where the incumbent is not seeking re-election.

Michelle Palmer defeated Kimberly McCleod in the Democratic runoff for SBOE District 6, which represents Houston. Palmer will face Republican Will Hickman and Libertarian candidate Whitney Bilyeu in November. The seat is currently held by Donna Bahorich (R-Houston), who is not running for reelection.

Republican Lani Popp defeated controversial candidate Robert Morrow in the District 5 GOP runoff. Popp will face Democrat Rebecca Bell-Metereau and Libertarian candidate Stephanie Berlin in in November. Notably, Popp had been endorsed by all sitting Republican members of the board, including incumbent Ken Mercer (R-San Antonio). SBOE Chair Keven Ellis (R-Lufkin) weighed in on the race Tuesday morning via Twitter with one of the day's less subtle endorsements:

THOSE IN SBOE DISTRICT 5, SAY NO TO ROBERT MORROW. YES I AM, YELLING!!! #TXED #TXSBOE pic.twitter.com/XCDfeliq1N

— Keven Ellis - Chair Texas State Board of Education (@KevenEllisDC) July 14, 2020

Texas House of Representatives

Several Texas House incumbents lost their primary runoff contests Tuesday, including several who had trailed their opponents by a substantial margin during the March primaries and a couple who had only held their House seats for a few short months.

State Rep. Dan Flynn (R-Van), who served in the House since 2002 and previously chaired the House Pensions committee, lost to repeat challenger Bryan Slaton by a vote of 37% to 63% in the House District (HD) 2 Republican runoff. Flynn had been endorsed by Gov. Greg Abbott and by the pro-public education group Texas Parent PAC. Slaton will go on to face Democrat Bill Brannon in November.

Republican Cody Vasut defeated Ro'Vin Garrett in HD 25, which is the open race for the seat currently held by outgoing House Speaker Dennis Bonnen (R-Angleton). Vasut will face Democrat Patrick Henry in November.

In a HD 26 double header, Republican Jacey Jetton beat Matt Morgan, while repeat candidate Sarah DeMerchant defeated Suleman Lalani in the Democratic runoff. Jetton and DeMerchant will now face each other in the fall for the seat held by outgoing state Rep. Rick Miller (R-Sugar Land) who is not seeking re-election. Voters in HD 26 have elected Republicans in the past, but the district has been trending Democratic. Beto O'Rourke won the district by 1.6% in 2018 after Donald Trump won by 4.9% in 2016. Greg Abbott won the district by more than 33% in 2014.

Republican candidate Carrie Isaac handily defeated Bud Wymore in HD 45. Isaac, the wife of former Rep. Jason Isaac, will face incumbent Democratic Rep.Erin Zwiener and Green Party candidate Dan Lyon in the November general election. This one is considered a very competitive swing district.

In another Republican match-up, Justin Berry defeated Jennifer Fleck in HD 47. Berry will go up against incumbent Democratic Rep. Vikki Goodwin along with with Libertarian candidate Michael Clark in the general election. HD 47 is yet another swing district deemed to be competitive for both major parties.

State Rep. J.D. Sheffield (R-Gatesville) fell to challenger Shelby Slawson in the HD 59 Republican runoff, 38% to 62%. Like ousted incumbent Flynn, Sheffield had been visibly supported by the governor, and he was endorsed by Texas Parent PAC over the course of multiple elections. Slawson is unopposed in the general election, making this one a "winner-take-all" runoff.

In a stern rebuke of anti-public education provocateurs Empower Texans, Glenn Rogers defeated Jon Francis in the open HD 60 GOP runoff, 52% to 48%. Rogers was supported by Texas Parent PAC and Gov. Abbott, while Francis's campaign was bankrolled almost entirely by his father-in-law, West Texas billionaire and Empower Texans megadonor Farris Wilks. Rogers faces third-party candidate Scott Coleman in the fall.

In another Democratic runoff, Lorenzo Sanchez will go on to face incumbent Republican Jeff Leach in the general after defeating Tom Adair in the HD 67 Democratic primary. Green Party candidate Kashif Riaz will also be on the November ballot.

State Rep. Lorraine Birabil (D-Dallas) appears to have narrowly lost to challenger Jasmine Crockett by less than 100 votes in the HD 100 Democratic runoff. Birabil, who was endorsed by Texas Parent PAC, won a special runoff election in January to fill the seat previously held by Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson. Crockett moves forward unopposed in the general election, making her the presumptive winner of this seat.

Democrat Liz Campos defeated Jennifer Ramos in the HD 119 runoff. She will face Republican George B. Garza in the November election, along with Green Party candidate Antonio Padron and Libertarian Arthur Thomas, IV. The seat is currently held by state Rep. Roland Gutierrez, who is running run for the Texas Senate.

Democrat Akilah Bacy soundly beat Jenifer Rene Pool in HD 138 for another open seat. Bacy, who has been endorsed by Texas Parent PAC, will face Republican Lacey Hull in November to replace outgoing state Rep. Dwayne Bohac (R-Houston) who is not seeking re-election.

State Rep. Harold Dutton (D-Houston) defeated his challenger Jerry Davis in the HD 142 Democratic primary, 52% to 48%. Dutton, the third longest serving member in the Texas House, will face Republican challenger Jason Rowe and an independent candidate Whitney Hatter in the fall.

In HD 148, Democratic challenger Penny Morales Shaw defeated another short-term incumbent, state Rep. Anna Eastman (D-Houston) by 200 votes, 54% to 46%. Eastman won a special runoff election in January to fill the seat vacated by former state Rep. Jessica Farrar (D-Houston). Shaw will face Republican Luis LaRotta in the general election.

Texas Senate

There were two Texas State Senate runoffs in play yesterday. First, state Rep. Roland Gutierrez (D-San Antonio) defeated Xochil Pena Rodriguez in the Democratic runoff for Senate District (SD) 19 to face Republican state Sen. Pete Flores (R-Pleasanton) in the general election. Libertarian candidate Jo-Anne Valdivia will also be on the ballot in November. Sen. Flores flipped this seat that was previously held by a Democrat in a surprising special election held in September 2018.

In SD 27, State Sen. Eddie Lucio, Jr. (D-Brownsville) last night survived a primary challenge by Brownsville attorney Sara Stapleton-Barrera by a vote of 54% to 46%. Sen. Lucio, who has served as Vice Chairman of the Senate Education Committee, will face Republican Vanessa Tijerina in the general election; an independent candidate Javier Navarro also filed to run for this seat. Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick congratulated Lucio on his primary win.

Congratulations to my friend and a great state senator, Eddie Lucio, Jr., on his win tonight. A great victory for the people of his district and the entire #RGV. Will have more to say on this tomorrow. #txlege #2020Elections https://t.co/nhe9PRZrPH

— Dan Patrick (@DanPatrick) July 15, 2020

Many Austin-area voters also participated in a special election Tuesday. Former Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardt appears headed to a runoff against state Rep. Eddie Rodriguez (D-Austin) after finishing with 49.7% and 33.8% of the vote, respectively. The two Democrats were the top finishers in a special election to represent SD 14, after longtime state Sen. Kirk Watson (D-Austin) resigned earlier this year to accept a post with the University of Houston.

Voter Turnout

In general, the primary runoffs exposed some deeply troubling issues with voting during the COVID-19 pandemic, ranging from problems with voting by mail, to staffing issues resulting from poll workers who refused to wear masks, to issues for voters who have tested positive for COVID-19.

A total of 660,184 Democrats and 420,960 Republicans voted early in the runoff elections for a combined turnout of 6.61%. Of those, 30% of Democrats and 24% of Republicans cast ballots by mail. Election Day turnout figures were not immediately available from the Texas Secretary of State, but 955,735 Democrats voted in the statewide runoff for U.S. Senate. There was not a statewide runoff on the Republican ballot, making comparisons difficult without official turnout numbers.