Facebook / John Lujan (left) and Frank Ramirez (right)
Republican John Lujan (left) and Frank Ramirez (right) are headed to a runoff to represent the South Bexar County Texas House district formerly held by Democrat Leo Pacheco.
They didn't get that wish in Tuesday night's special election, but they will get another shot in a runoff to determine who represents the South Bexar County District. Republican John Lujan, who briefly served the district following a 2016 special election, will face off with Democrat Frank Ramirez, a former zoning and planning director for the City of San Antonio.
Lujan led Tuesday's five-way contest by pulling 2,938 votes or 41% of the overall count. Ramirez claimed 1,416 votes or 20%. Two more Democrats and one additional GOP candidate each failed to top 20%.
To avoid a runoff election, a candidate would have needed to top 50% of the vote.
District 118 has traditionally been friendly to Democrats. However, the GOP targeted it as part of an effort to chase additional South Texas wins in 2022. Since special elections tend to have low turnout, political observers say they're often poor predictors of runoffs and regular elections.
Gov. Greg Abbott will set a date for the runoff.
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