Government

Generally speaking, Texas is a Red state - the Romney/Ryan ticket landed 57 percent of the vote to the Obama/Biden 41 percent, which failed to reach the 44 percent they got in 2008 - but the vote counts in metropolitan areas show strong pockets of Democratic support.

Republican incumbent John Garza was elected during the Republican sweep in the 2010 mid-term elections, but this year former San Antonio City Councilman Philip Cortez ended election night with 53 percent of voter support to win the seat.

Cortez said he pledges to fight any additional cuts to the Texas education system when he takes office in January.

“I will fight them tooth and nail because those dollars are for our children and for the resources that teachers need to ensure we are properly educating the future leaders of this great state of Texas,” Cortez said.

Bexar County will have a new sheriff after the Republican challenger unseated Democratic incumbent Amadeo Ortiz.  

Bexar County Sheriff-Elect Susan Pamerleau had a smile from ear to ear with an early vote lead of nine percent when the polls closed on election night. In the end, Pamerleau had won by a slim margin with 51 percent.

At the Republican watch party, Pamerleau dropped hints that she is intent on changing some of the inner workings of the sheriff’s department.

With nearly 64 percent of the votes in Congressional District 20, Joaquín Castro won the seat being vacated by the long-serving Charlie Gonzalez who is retiring at the end of this term.

San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro introduced his brother, Joaquín as a newly-elected congressman, saying that he will be a breath of fresh air in Washington, D.C.