Editor's Note: This story has been thoroughly updated to reflect where things stand at the end of election night. For election results coverage on Wednesday click here.
The presidential race and many other races across Texas were too close to call as Election Day turned into Nov. 4, but there were some definitive answers for Texas voters before the clock struck midnight.
Sen. John Cornyn won his fourth term in office, defeating Democratic challenger MJ Hegar. Democratic Rep. Colin Allred kept the District 32 seat he flipped two years ago in the U.S. House of Representatives. And Republican Rep. Van Taylor won re-election against Democrat challenger Lulu Seikaly in District 3.
However, three Republican state House representatives remain in close races late Tuesday against Democrat challengers hoping to flip the seats.
Democrats are nine seats short of the majority in the 150-member Texas House, and several close races in North Texas could be key to flipping the state House from red to blue.
The presidential election is also still too close to call. The Associated Press and ABC News are projecting a Texas win for President Donald Trump, but as of 12:40 a.m., former Vice President Joe Biden has 224 projected Electoral College votes to Trump's 213.
Polling places across North Texas were open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 3. As long as a voter was in line by 7 p.m., they were allowed to vote, according to Texas law.
Millions cast their ballots across Texas before Nov. 3, in-person during early voting or by mail, but hundreds of thousands more turned out on Election Day. Many more votes have yet to be counted.
Check the results of the presidential race here and check out local races here.
Read below for a recap of the day's events.
Live updates:
1:21 a.m.: Pres. Donald Trump addressed his supporters at the White House, celebrating victory in a number of battleground states, including Texas and Florida.
12:24 a.m.: The Tarrant County Elections Administration says that about 11,000 of its 70,000 mail-in votes still need to be counted because they are "defective and may require replication." The elections administrator told WFAA those ballots will probably be replicated/counted "in the coming days."
12:09 a.m.: The Associated Press is calling the state of Texas for President Trump.
12:01 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 4: All votes are in in Denton County, and President Trump beat Joe Biden in that area 53.25% to 45.13%.
11:45 p.m.: Rep. Van Taylor tweeted a statement after the Associated Press declared him the winner of his District 3 seat.
"Collin County is the best place to live, work, and raise a family and I am grateful for the opportunity to continue serving the place I love. Thank you for your support," he said.
11:42 p.m.: Joe Biden is speaking to a crowd in Wilmington, Delaware. "Your patience is commendable," the former vice president said. "We knew it was going to go long, but who knew it would go into tomorrow?...It ain't over until every vote is counted, until every ballot is counted.
"We feel good about where we are...We believe we're on track to win this election."
11:36 p.m.: The Associated Press is calling the state of Florida for President Trump.
11:24 p.m.: With 159 of 205 precincts reporting, Republican Rep. Van Taylor is ahead of Democrat challenger Lulu Seikaly 55% to 43% for a District 3 seat.
11:21 p.m.: The Associated Press is calling the states of Ohio, Montana and Iowa for President Trump.
11:15 p.m.: The Associated Press is calling the state of Minnesota for Joe Biden.
11:12 p.m.: The Associated Press is calling the state of Hawaii for Joe Biden.
11:07 p.m.: U.S. Rep. Colin Allred released a statement on his re-election on Twitter.
"This is a victory for North Texas and everyone who believes that if we put our values first, and work hard to deliver results, anything is possible," he begins the video. Watch the full thing below:
11:00 p.m.: Polls are now closed in Alaska and Hawaii. Alaska will not start counting absentee ballots until Nov. 10.
10:48 p.m.: The presidential election remains close in all of the big four North Texas counties and many battleground states, like Texas, Florida and Georgia.
Early results out of Dallas County have Joe Biden ahead of President Trump 65% to 33%. Tarrant County, as of 10:21 p.m., has Trump ahead of Biden 49.52% to 48.91%. Collin County, with 82 of 102 voting centers reporting, has Trump ahead 51.32% to 46.90%. And Denton County has Trump ahead 53.22% to 45.16%.
10:24 p.m.: Three Republican state House representatives remain in close races late Tuesday against Democrat challengers hoping to flip the seats.
Democrats are nine seats short of the majority in the 150-member Texas House, and several close races in North Texas could be key to flipping the state House from red to blue.
10:09 p.m.: The Associated Press is calling the state of Utah for President Trump.
10 p.m.: Polls are closed in California, Oregon and Washington, all of which the Associated Press just called for Joe Biden. Polls are also closed in Idaho, which the AP just called for President Trump. The presidential race is still too close to call, however.
9:56 p.m.: The Associated Press is calling the state of New Hampshire for Joe Biden.
9:36 p.m.: With 298 of 528 precincts reporting, Democratic Rep. Colin Allred keeps his seat after running against business owner Genevieve Collins. He flipped the seat two years ago.
9:35 p.m.: The Associated Press is calling the state of Missouri for President Trump.
9:04 p.m.: Collin County is now reporting results from 14 of 102 total voting centers, putting President Trump ahead of Joe Biden 51.18% to 47.13%.
9:00 p.m.: The Associated Press is calling the state of Kansas for President Trump. Polls in Iowa are closed.
8:55 p.m.: In Denton County, with 63 of 193 precincts reporting, President Trump leads the presidential race 53.08% to joe Biden's 45.39%.
In Collin County, with only four of 102 voting centers reporting results, President Trump leads Biden 51.15% to 47.19%.
8:53 p.m.: Sen. John Cornyn tweeted a statement after winning the U.S. Senate race:
Cornyn, according to his campaign staff, was watching results alongside that staff tonight. He is expected to make a virtual victory speech via Zoom later tonight.
8:41 p.m.: A spokesperson for MJ Hegar said Hegar called Sen. John Cornyn around 8:20 p.m. to concede the U.S. Senate race.
Gov. Greg Abbott has already congratulated Cornyn, saying, "I know [Cornyn] will continue to be a powerful voice for Texans in the United States Senate."
Cornyn's press office confirmed the call to WFAA.
This will be Cornyn's fourth term in the U.S. Senate.
8:37 p.m.: The Associated Press is calling the state of Colorado for Joe Biden.
8:30 p.m.: The Associated Press is calling the District of Columbia for Joe Biden.
8:15 p.m.: ABC News is projecting that Sen. John Cornyn will win the U.S. Senate race against MJ Hegar, but as we know, there are still a lot of votes that have yet to be counted. As of 8:15 p.m., with 422 of 9,554 precincts reporting, Cornyn had almost 500,000 more votes than Hegar.
8:09 p.m.:
Sen. John Cornyn had a sizable lead over Democratic opponent M.J. Hegar as the very earliest votes began coming in, but the race is far from over.
Cornyn is watching results with his campaign staff instead of at a traditional large watch party. Because of COVID, the senator decided he would go virtual on election night, though he did have several in-person events during his campaign - especially in the final days.
His campaign staff did not share details on how Cornyn spent Election Day. But he was active on Twitter, retweeting support for several down-ballot Texas Republicans throughout the day.
Cornyn voted early in the Austin area about a week ago.
-Reporter Teresa Woodard
8:06 p.m.: The Associated Press has called the states of North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Louisiana and Nebraska for President Trump and has called the states of New York and New Mexico for Joe Biden.
8:00 p.m.: Polls are closed in Wisconsin, Arizona, Colorado and Michigan and are fully closed in Texas — all key battleground states.
The story tonight in texas, though, is the early voting results in Tarrant County, which shows President Trump and Joe Biden neck-and-neck with voting totals.
7:54 p.m.: The Associated Press has called the state of Indiana for President Trump.
7:45 p.m.: The Associated Press has called the state of Arkansas for President Trump.
7:39 p.m.: The Texas Secretary of State tweeted that its elections results webpage is experiencing technical difficulties and they are working on fixing it.
7:18 p.m.: Dallas County Elections workers have a long night ahead of them after record voter turnout at polling sites across the area.
There was a steady flow of voters filing at the Duncanville Library on Tuesday. As the deadline to vote approached, county elections workers were waiting outside the building.
When the polling site officially closed at 7 p.m., a crowd of elections staffers waited to unload a white truck with tables and machines to begin post-elections procedures.
Workers say it will be a long night of processing and counting ballots from this election.
— WFAA reporter Demond Fernandez
7:02 p.m.: Tarrant County is reporting 101,369 votes Tuesday.
7:02 p.m.: The Associated Press is calling the following states in the presidential race:
President Trump: Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Oklahoma
Joe Biden: Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Rhode Island
7:00 p.m.: Polls are now closed in most of Texas, a key battleground state. Polls in Hidalgo County and some parts of West Texas are open for another hour. If you are in line before polls close, you will still be able to vote.
Polls are also closed in Pennsylvania, Alabama, Maine, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Mississippi, New Jersey, Maryland, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Delaware, Illinois, Missouri, Washington, D.C. and most of Michigan.
6:58 p.m.: The Associated Press has called South Carolina for President Trump.
6:52 p.m.: Tarrant County is reporting 100,568 votes Tuesday with minutes to go until the polls close.
6:42 p.m.: The Associated Press has called the state of Virginia for Joe Biden.
6:30 p.m.: Polls are now closed in North Carolina, a key battleground state. Mail ballots can't be counted until Election Day, but the state expects to report early-in person votes and mail ballots cast before Election Day shortly after polls are closed. Election Day ballots will be counted last.
Polls are also closed in West Virginia and Ohio. The Associated Press has called the state of West Virginia for President Trump.
6:20 p.m.: There are currently no long wait times in Dallas County. Remember, if you are in line before 7 p.m., you will still be able to vote.
6:05 p.m.: As of 6 p.m., Collin County has had 34,709 voters cast ballots on Election Day.
6:01 p.m.: The first projected vote tallies in the presidential election are now in. The Associated Press has called the state of Vermont for Joe Biden and the state of Kentucky for President Donald Trump.
6 p.m.: Polls are now closed in Florida and Georgia, two key battleground states. Florida allows mail ballots to be counted before Election Day, which means voters can expect to see more advanced results Tuesday night.
Georgia, however, does not allow mail ballots to be counted until after polls close on Election Day.
Polls are also closed in Indiana, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Vermont and Virginia.
5:38 p.m.: Tarrant County just reported 90,686 votes so far on Election Day.
Here's a total of how many people have voted in the four big counties in North Texas today:
- Dallas County: 90,429
- Tarrant County: 90,686
- Collin County: 31,997
- Denton County: 27,573
So far, that's a total of 240,685 votes in those counties Tuesday.
5:00 p.m.: As of 4:50 p.m., the following Dallas County voting locations have a wait time of 40 minutes or more:
- Las Colinas Elementary School
- H. Bob Daniel Senior Intermediate School
- Duncanville Library
- Hector P. Garcia Middle School
- Elisha M. Pease Elementary School
- S.S. Conner Elementary School
- Lake Highlands North Recreation Center
- Liberty Grove Elementary School
Also as of 5 p.m., 31,997 voters have voted in Collin County.
4:50 p.m.: So far in Denton County, 27,573 voters have voted on Election Day.
4:40 p.m.: As of 4:11 p.m., Dallas County voters have cast 90,429 ballots. Tarrant County is reporting 81,964 votes.
3:59 p.m.: Hidalgo County announced on Tuesday that polls within the county will remain open until 8 p.m. — an hour later than normal.
Ten polling places experienced problems Tuesday morning, which temporarily prevented some voters from checking in.
All 74 polling locations in Hidalgo County are now open and operating normally.
“Making sure our voters have the opportunity to cast their ballot is our utmost priority,” Elections Administrator Yvonne Ramón said in a news release. “Extending the closure of the polls to 8 p.m. will provide that opportunity to the voters of Hidalgo County.”
3:47 p.m.: More than 200,000 North Texans have cast their ballots in the four major counties.
As of 3:47 p.m., here are the Election Day voting numbers as provided by election officials:
Denton County: 24,000
Dallas County: 82,711
Tarrant County: 67,659
Collin County: 20,000
3:06 p.m.: Dallas, Tarrant and Collin counties have provided websites that show wait times at polling locations. Denton County's website does not show wait times.
In Tarrant County, the Blue Mound City Hall and the Southeast Branch Library have wait times of over 60 minutes, according to the website.
In Dallas County, there were more than 40 minute wait times Singley Academy, Hector P. Garcia Middle School, Boude Storey Middle School, Bill J. Priest Institute, El Centro College main campus, Skyline High School, Conner Elementary School, according to the website.
In Collin County, all locations on the map were green, meaning a wait time of less than 20 minutes.
2:41 p.m.: The line at the Arlington Public Library has decreased, after this morning there was an hour-long wait time reported by election officials.
2:22 p.m.: More than 20,000 votes have been cast in Collin County. Election officials say they expect 50,000 votes and 77% voter turnout, said Bruce Sherbet, elections administrator.
1:56 p.m.: Denton County has had more than 19,000 votes so far Tuesday.
12:45 p.m.: Dallas County has had more than 60,000 voters turn out on Election Day, Judge Clay Jenkins tweeted. They've also received more than 74,000 mail-in ballots, for a total turnout so far of 866,505 people. That is 62% of the county's registered voters.
12:30 p.m.: More than 50,000 people have now cast their ballots on Election Day in Tarrant County. Turnout is nearing 60% of all registered voters with more than 717,000 ballots cast.
12:20 p.m.: A voting party is underway outside St. Luke Community Church, a polling place in Dallas, WFAA's Demond Fernandez said. Music is playing and volunteers are cheering on voters as they cast their ballots.
12 p.m.: Polling locations across Denton County, including the ballot drop-off spot, have been fairly quiet, WFAA's Kevin Reece reports, with very little activity even with the start of the lunch hour.
11:45 a.m.: It's been a mostly quiet day at the polls in Johnson County, WFAA's Eric Alvarez reports, with little, if any lines at polling places.
11:15 a.m.: While there are a number of voting locations in Dallas County that do not have wait times over 40 minutes, at least 11 locations do.
- LAKESIDE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
- 1100 Village Parkway in Coppell
- 1100 Village Parkway in Coppell
- W. H. GASTON MIDDLE SCHOOL
- 9565 Mercer Dr. in Dallas
- SKILLMAN SOUTHWESTERN BRANCH LIBRARY
- 5707 Skillman St. in Dallas
- MARTIN LUTHER KING JR LEARNING CENTER
- 1817 Warren Ave. in Dallas
- S.S. CONNER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
- 3037 Green Meadow Dr. in Dallas
- JAMES MADISON HIGH SCHOOL
- 3000 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. in Dallas
- DUNCANVILLE LIBRARY
- 201 James Collins Blvd. in Duncanville
- REED MIDDLE SCHOOL
- 530 E. Freeman St. in Duncanville
- SOUTH GARLAND BRANCH LIBRARY
- 4845 Broadway Blvd. in Garland
- GOLDEN MEADOWS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
- 1726 Travis St. in Garland
- NIMITZ HIGH SCHOOL
- 100 W. Oakdale Road in Irving
11 a.m.: Among the supporters helping urge voters with their decision outside the AAC are “Lady Gaga” and “Miss America,” WFAA's Chris Sadeghi reports.
10:30 a.m.: More than 700,000 people in Tarrant County have now cast a ballot in the 2020 election, and more than 33,000 of those votes have been cast in the first few hours of Election Day.
While most polling locations have low wait times in the county, the Elzie Odom Athletic Center in Arlington is currently experiencing wait times upwards of an hour.
10:15 a.m.: While there are a number of voting locations in Dallas County that do not have wait times over 40 minutes, at least 13 locations do.
- ADDISON FIRE STATION NO. 1
- 4798 Airport Pkwy. in Addison
- LAKESIDE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
- 1100 Village Parkway in Coppell
- 1100 Village Parkway in Coppell
- AMERICAN AIRLINES CENTER
- 2500 Victory Ave. in Dallas
- EXALL RECREATION CENTER
- 1355 Adair St. in Dallas
- SKILLMAN SOUTHWESTERN BRANCH LIBRARY
- 5707 Skillman St. in Dallas
- MARTIN LUTHER KING JR LEARNING CENTER
- 1817 Warren Ave. in Dallas
- WILLIAM B TRAVIS ACADEMY
- 3001 McKinney Ave. in Dallas
- OAKLAWN BRANCH LIBRARY
- 4100 Cedar Springs Road in Dallas
- JAMES MADISON HIGH SCHOOL
- 3000 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. in Dallas
- T.G. TERRY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
- 6661 Greenspan Ave. in Dallas
- SOUTH GARLAND BRANCH LIBRARY
- 4845 Broadway Blvd. in Garland
- GOLDEN MEADOWS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
- 1726 Travis St. in Garland
- NIMITZ HIGH SCHOOL
- 100 W. Oakdale Road in Irving
9:40 a.m.: Nearly 27,000 voters cast their ballots in the first two hours of Election Day in Dallas County, Judge Clay Jenkins said on Twitter. Tarrant County had reported nearly 25,000 by 9:30 a.m.
9:30 a.m.: At least eight polling sites in Dallas County are currently experiencing wait times over 40 minutes, including the American Airlines Center mega site, according to a map provided by the county. They are:
- LAKESIDE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
- 1100 Village Parkway in Coppell
- 1100 Village Parkway in Coppell
- AMERICAN AIRLINES CENTER
- 2500 Victory Ave. in Dallas
- EXALL RECREATION CENTER
- 1355 Adair St. in Dallas
- SKILLMAN SOUTHWESTERN BRANCH LIBRARY
- 5707 Skillman St. in Dallas
- CENTRAL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
- 302 E. Freeman St. in Duncanville
- AUSTIN ACADEMY
- 1125 Beverly Drive in Garland
- NORTHLAKE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
- 1626 Bosque Drive in Garland
- BETTY WARMACK LIBRARY
- 760 Bardin Road in Grand Prairie
9:15 a.m.: The AAC had seen a long line that stretched the entire north side of the AAC, but that was back down to just a few dozen voters at 9 a.m. One woman told WFAA reporter Chris Sadeghi it took her about 40 minutes to get through to vote.
When asked why she waited until Election Day, she said she did not receive her mail-in ballot, and she also wanted to feel the energy of the crowd on Election Day.
9:10 a.m.: More than 21,000 people have cast ballots on Election Day so far in Tarrant County. The county has now had more than 688,000 people vote in the election, a turnout rate of 57.56%.
Click here to check wait times at the polls.
8:30 a.m.: Two polling sites in Dallas County are currently experiencing wait times over 40 minutes, according to a map provided by the county. They are:
- BETTY WARMACK LIBRARY
- 760 Bardin Road in Grand Prairie
- NORTHLAKE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
- 1626 Bosque Drive in Garland
There are also a number of polling sites with wait times between 20 to 40 minutes, but the majority of sites currently have wait times below 20 minutes.
8 a.m.: More than 10,000 people have now cast their ballots across Tarrant County on Election Day itself, for a total of more than 677,000 ballots so far.
7:15 a.m.: Despite the record-setting early voting period, it appears Election Day will still be busy, Chris Sadeghi reports. What started with a few people at 6 a.m. lining up outside the doors at the American Airlines Center in Dallas became several dozen as the doors opened at 7 a.m.
Almost all are wearing masks and markers on the ground remind them to keep the proper distance.
6:30 a.m.: Counties across the state saw record levels of early vote turnout, with the state itself already surpassing the total number of votes cast in the 2016 presidential election.
In Collin County, more than 69% of all registered voters cast a ballot during early voting, according to the Texas Secretary of State. That was the highest voter turnout rate for any county across the state by the end of the early voting period.
Denton County had a similarly high number at more than 67%, while Tarrant County reported more than 60% and Dallas County trailed at 57%.
Dallas County has the largest total number of registered voters of the four, with 1,398,469 people registered, placing it behind only Harris County across Texas.
Harris County has 2,480,522 registered voters, of which nearly 58% had cast a ballot by the end of the early voting period.
More than 57% of Texas' more than 16.9 million voters cast their ballots during early voting. That means about 7.2 million Texans have yet to vote.
If you're one of those who has yet to cast your ballot, or if you have a concern about your mail-in ballot, below are a number of links with useful information about the process and other resources.
Digital producers Jennifer Prohov, Eline de Bruijn, and Jake Harris contributed to this report.
Resources:
- Texas voting FAQs: Here's what you should know before heading to the polls
- Voter guide: What you need to know before you vote
- On Election Day, slow results mean the system is working, not broken
- VERIFY: Voter intimidation is real. Here's what you can do about it.
- VERIFY: Why the margins on Election Day may shift widely
In-person voting
Curbside voting
Voting by mail
What's on my ballot?
Where is my polling place?
Am I registered to vote?
Races to watch
WFAA digital producers Jake Harris and Eline de Bruijn contributed to this report.