LIVE RESULTS: First-term GOP Rep. Chip Roy looks to defend his seat against Wendy Davis in Texas' 21st Congressional District
- First-term Rep. Chip Roy will face Democrat Wendy Davis, a former state senator and 2014 gubernatorial candidate, in Texas' 21st Congressional District.
- Polls began closing in the district at 7 p.m. local time.
- The district is home to much of Austin and the suburbs north of San Antonio, including some of Texas' Hill Country.
- President Trump carried Texas' 21st District by a margin of ten points in the 2016 election.
- See the live coverage and full results from all US House elections.
First-term Rep. Chip Roy looks to retain his new seat against Democrat Wendy Davis in Texas' 21st Congressional District.
The candidates
Roy was a member of former Texas Gov. Rick Perry's staff and presidential campaign. He was the chief of staff for Ted Cruz and played a key role as an architect of the 2013 government shutdown which Cruz led, according to Politico.
In 2014, Roy became the first assistant attorney general under Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a position Roy later left in 2016 to lead the Trusted Leadership PAC — a political action committee created to support Cruz's presidential aspirations.
Davis, Roy's challenger, is a former member of the Texas State Senate — a position she held for six years. During her time in the state senate, she led a 13 hour-long filibuster to block a bill restricting abortion rights in Texas.
She formerly ran for governor against Republican Greg Abbott in 2014 and ultimately lost. Her campaign platform is centered upon investing in schools, combatting climate change, and providing protection for DACA recipients and temporary protected status holders.
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The district
Texas' 21st Congressional District is located in the center of the state and covers the area north of San Antonio and a large portion of Austin. The district is home to Real, Kerr, Kendall, Blanco, Bandera, and Gillespie counties and parts of Bexar, Hays, Travis, and Comal counties.
The district has not been represented by a Democrat since 1979. Mitt Romney carried the 21st District by 22 points, 60% to 38% in 2012, but Trump carried the District by a smaller margin of ten points, 52% to 42%, in the 2016 election, according to the Daily Kos.
In Texas' 2018 US Senate race, Democratic candidate Beto O'Rourke and Republican Sen. Ted Cruz tied in the district with 49% of the vote each.
The money race
According to the Center for Responsive Politics and Federal Election Commission filings, Davis has raised $8.8 million, spent $8.2 million, and has around $513,325 in cash on hand while Roy has raised around $4.5 million, spent $3.7 million, and has around $983,000 in cash on hand.
What some of the experts say
The race between Roy and Davis is rated as a "toss-up" by Inside Elections and The Cook Political Report, and "leans Republican" by Sabato's Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics.