DALLAS — Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Royce West said he is reaching out to Criztina Tzintzún Ramirez and other former challengers, asking for their endorsement in the May 26th runoff against Mary "MJ" Hegar.
“What that will signal, for the first time in Texas history, is Latinos and African-Americans coming together,” West told WFAA.
The Democratic runoff for U.S. Senate wasn’t finalized until Wednesday afternoon with several candidates collecting similar amounts of the vote.
“It’s been a long, long night in terms of waiting for the results,” said Royce West, D-U.S. Senate candidate, to reporters on Wednesday afternoon. It was confirmed hours ago that I would be in the race also. I plan to redouble my efforts.”
Hegar won more than 412,000 votes, or 22%, of the vote. After all 254 Texas counties reported results, West edged out Cristina Tzintzún Ramirez for a second-place finish. West won 269,000 votes. Tzintzún Ramirez earned 244,000 votes.
RELATED: MJ Hegar to face Royce West in runoff after Cristina Tzintzún Ramirez concedes in U.S. Senate race
“MJ Hegar scored a defining victory in yesterday’s Senate primary, proving the strength and agility of her grassroots movement sweeping Texas,” her campaign said in an email victory lap. “Earning 40% more votes than her two nearest challengers, MJ is the clear front runner poised to defeat John Cornyn come November.”
The other big political win in this state happened in the Democratic race for U.S. president.
Think about how far Joe Biden has come in 48 hours.
Two nights ago, the former vice president was collecting endorsements in Dallas from Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar, and Beto O’Rourke.
Then in an interview with WFAA, Biden lowered expectations of whether he could win Texas since polls showed Bernie Sanders slightly ahead.
“Well, I think a win is just doing well,” Biden told WFAA.
But 24 hours after his visit to Dallas, Biden surged past Bernie Sanders to become the new Democratic front runner. Biden won 10 of the 14 states that voted on Super Tuesday.
“We had a great night last and tremendous support from all across the nation with victories in Texas, Virginia, North Carolina, Arkansas, Alabama, Tennessee,” Biden said, rattling off some of the states to reporters in Los Angeles on Wednesday.
Bernie Sanders is now on the defensive and attacking Biden as an establishment candidate who is backed by billionaires.
“Joe and I have a very different voting record. Joe and I have a very different vision for this country. Joe and I are leading very different campaigns,” said Sanders, D-presidential candidate.
Wednesday, Mike Bloomberg bowed out and backed Biden after he was unable to win any state.
Elizabeth Warren’s campaign could be in its final days with no wins, either. She even placed third in her home state of Massachusetts.
The dwindling field of Democrats now sets up a showdown between Biden and Sanders. The presidential race moves to Michigan next Tuesday, where polls show Biden leads.
More on WFAA:
- Dallas County to step up outreach on countywide polling locations
- MJ Hegar to face Royce West in runoff after Cristina Tzintzún Ramirez concedes in U.S. Senate race
- Shorter wait times, more poll workers the goal for November election in Tarrant County
- More Democratic ballots cast during 2020 primary compared to 2016 in Dallas-Fort Worth
- Who is running for president in 2020?
