In Texas' Senate race, Democrat MJ Hegar appears to be headed to the May 26 runoff against State Sen. Royce West (D-Dallas) after Cristina Tzintzun Ramirez conceded Wednesday. The three candidates were part of a 12-person field in the Democratic primary on Super Tuesday.
The winner of the runoff will try to unseat Republican incumbent John Cornyn. The Senior Senator is seen as a heavy favorite in a state where a Democrat hasn't won a Senate seat since the 1970s.
With 99% of precincts reporting, Hegar has a spot in the runoff with 23%. West received 15% of the vote and Ramirez received 13% of the vote.
"This campaign was consistently underestimated," Ramirez said in a statement Wednesday." I ran as a progressive, as a Latina, and as a working mom. We ran this campaign unapologetically, and we all have so much to be proud of for what we’ve accomplished.”
West issued a statement in a tweet Wednesday afternoon.
U.S. Senate Democratic Primary Results
Three others in the crowded field, Amanda K. Edwards, Annie "Mama" Garcia and Chris Bell, averaged about 10% of the vote.
Prior to Super Tuesday, in the latest poll by The Dallas Morning News and the University of Texas at Tyler, Hegar was named by 15% of respondents, to lead all candidates. West, who has served in the State Senate since 1993, was named by 7% of those polled.
Former U.S. Rep. Bell and Tzintzun Ramirez also both polled at 7%.
The other candidates on the ballot, Michael Cooper, Edwards, Victor Hugo Harris, Jack Daniel Foster Jr., Adrian Ocegueda, Sema Hernandez, D.R. Hunter and Garcia, were all named by 4% or less of those polled.
Forty-six percent of respondents answered they were not sure who they would vote for.
Since the leading candidate failed to secure more than 50% of the vote, a runoff will be held with the top two finishers on May 26.
