Election Day is underway, and KERA will be tracking results for each of the key races, including the presidential and Texas senate elections.
Former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, is facing Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris in the presidential race, while incumbent U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Houston) faces a challenge from U.S. Rep. Colin Allred (D-Dallas). There are also a host of local and regional elections on the ballot, including numerous Dallas charter amendment propositions.
U.S. President and Vice President
On the Republican side, former President Donald Trump is running alongside Ohio Sen. JD Vance. Trump’s campaign website lists 20 “core promises,” including promises to “seal the border” and “carry out the largest deportation operation in American history.”
On the Democratic side, Vice President Kamala Harris is running alongside Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz after President Biden dropped out of the election. According to the campaign’s website, Harris and Walz are fighting for “a new way forward for the middle class” and say their plan is to lower costs and “create an opportunity economy.”
U.S. Senate
Ted Cruz was first elected to the Senate in 2012. A conservative firebrand, he ran for president in 2016 and won the second-most delegates after Trump. Cruz says he is “leading the fight” in Senate to secure the U.S.-Mexico border.
A former NFL player from the Dallas area, Allred was first elected to the House in 2018 when Democrats retook the House. He was one of two Democrats who flipped U.S. House seats in Texas that year. Allred was one of 14 House Democrats in January who joined with Republicans in a resolution condemn President Biden over his “open borders policies.” If he is elected, Allred would be the first Black senator from Texas.
Texas House District 112
Rep. Angie Chen Button, 70, is living the American Dream. After immigrating from Taiwan to Texas for graduate school at 24, she improved her English, climbed the corporate ladder and was elected to the state House, where she has served eight terms as the only Asian American woman in the Legislature.
Averie Bishop, 28, is living her own version of the American Dream. Her mother fled poverty in the Philippines and moved to Texas where she worked as a maid and married a bus driver. The two worked hard so Bishop could eventually go to college and law school, and, in 2022, become the first Asian American to be crowned Miss Texas.
Both say their stories reflect the opportunity and upward mobility that have drawn so many immigrants to Texas. Now they face off in the November election featuring two Asian candidates, vying for the seat in House District 112, which is poised to be one of the state’s most competitive legislative races.
Texas House District 70
Rep. Mihaela Plesa was the first Democrat elected to the statehouse from Collin County in decades when she won this seat. Steve Kinard is the Republican candidate.
The House District 70 race is one of the few competitive statehouse races in the state. Plesa won by about 850 votes two years ago. But she said her experience in the legislature will make a difference to voters. Plesa was named freshman of the year by the Texas Legislative Study Group.
Dallas County propositions
Three Dallas city charter amendments, buried at the very end of the upcoming November ballot, could drastically affect the city’s police department — and change how local government operates. Propositions S, T and U are at the very end of the ballot. They could significantly affect the police department and alter how Dallas government operates if passed.
If passed, the amendments could force the city to hire more police officers and say where money is spent and tie city manager’s compensation to a community survey. It would also allow residents to sue the city for violating the charter and force the city to waive governmental immunity.
Propositions S, T and U are backed by an organization called Dallas HERO. While its proponents say they would place power and accountability back in residents’ hands, its critics — which include the entire city council, four former Dallas mayors and current Mayor Eric Johnson and the Dallas Police union — say the measures are dangerous.
Proposition R would decriminalize larger amounts of cannabis possession in Dallas. It was backed by a group called Ground Game Texas.
Tarrant County Sheriff
Tarrant County voters have elected a Republican to the county’s highest law enforcement office for nearly 40 years. But as the clock ticks down to Nov. 5, incumbent Republican Sheriff Bill Waybourn is getting the most difficult questions he’s faced since first taking office in 2017.
More than 65 people have died in custody during Waybourn’s tenure. The sheriff’s primary job is to manage the jail — and the rising death toll has garnered fierce criticism from those who say new leadership is the only path forward. Over the last few months, Waybourn has fielded calls for his resignation from residents and a county commissioner. The incumbent and former Dalworthington Gardens police chief contends fixing problems in the jail is more complicated than people understand.
Democrat Patrick Moses, a retired federal law enforcement official and Fort Worth pastor, is Waybourn’s opponent on the ballot. Moses says fixing problems in the jail isn’t rocket science, if you leave politics at the door. But not everyone is convinced that he has the necessary skills to man the helm.
North Texas School Bonds
A number of school districts in North Texas are asking voters to approve tax increases for building upkeep, technology, new buses and more. The bond money across all these districts collectively tops more than $1 billion.
- Frisco ISD is asking for $1.08 billion spread over four propositions for campus upgrades and new equipment. The last time Frisco floated a bond package was in 2018.
- Allen ISD is seeking $447.44 million over three propositions for building improvements, Wi-Fi access across the district and updating technology.
- Sunnyvale ISD is looking for $94.9 million in three propositions for a new student activity center, existing building upgrades and security items.
- Highland Park ISD wants $137 million for new construction, land acquisition renovation and building improvements.
- Birdville ISD is asking for $48 million to pay for multi-purpose indoor practice fields.
- Grapevine-Colleyville, Coppell, Northwest and Celina are asking voters to approve their own Voter Approval Tax Rate Elections (VATREs) to help offset deficits and expenses.
School districts have been asking for more money from voters, pointing to inflation lack of money from the state. The state’s education budget has gone unchanged since 2019.
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