The 6,000 Democratic and 4,000 Republican ballots are expected to be added to the official count Tuesday.
HARRIS COUNTY, Texas — The race for Texas Attorney General was already heated.
There will be a run-off for both parties, but two candidates on the Democratic side are separated by less than 1,500 votes. It’s enough to pay attention to the 10,000 mail-in ballots that will be added to the official count Tuesday in Harris County.
From the beginning, it’s been one of the biggest races to watch.
An incumbent, Ken Paxton, trying to stay in the saddle in what’s become a crowded race for his job as Texas Attorney General. Joining him in the republican run-off will be, no stranger to Texas politics, George P. Bush.
However, former Galveston Mayor Joe Jaworski is waiting for the official word he will join Rochelle Garza on the Democratic side.
“Obviously you are a little anxious because you want to know – what’s the answer,” said Jaworski.
Only 1,418 votes separate him from civil rights attorney Lee Merritt.
“We still feel like we have a very good chance of at least being a part of the runoff for this position,” said Merritt.
A good chance, because 6,000 of the 10,000 mail-in ballots are Democrat.
Merritt puts much of the blame for Harris County’s elections debacle on Senate Bill 1.
“I do think the backup we have seen and will see with the vote count will have a lot to do with how the law has changed,” said Merritt.
Republicans though disagree. Announcing a lawsuit, placing the blame on Judge Lina Hidalgo and her newly created office of elections administrator.
“It’s amazing that it’s the voter’s fault, it’s the presiding judge’s fault, it’s the paper ballots fault, it’s Senate Bill 1’s fault, and no one down at Isabel Longoria’s office is taking responsibility,” said Cindy Seigel, Chair of the Harris County GOP.
“There will be some lawsuits filed and here’s the good news about that, that sober judges are going to be hearing the facts just like we did after the 2020 election,” said Jaworski.
Longoria is expected to address Harris County Commissioners Court Tuesday morning.