Some well-known Central Texas Democrats lost their seats tonight. In the U.S. House race for District 17, Chet Edwards lost to Republican Bill Flores, a first-time office seeker. Edwards was a nearly 20 year veteran of the Congress and chairman of the House Appropriations subcommittee on Military Construction and Veterans Affairs.
Closer to home, Patrick Rose, a Hays Country Democrat first elected in 2002, lost to Republican Jason Isaacs. Matt Stiles of the Texas Tribune says both Democrats just ran out of luck.
“He was called by his opponent a liberal but I don’t think anybody in the House considered him a liberal," Stiles told KUT News. "Certainly his voting record in the house was among the more conservative of all the Democrats, he authored legislation related to concealed handguns. He did all the right things that you would try to do if you’re in one of these marginal districts. Apparently it wasn’t enough apparently with the mood out there and the excitement among the Republican vote,” Stiles said.
House District 47 Democrat Valinda Bolton lost narrowly to GOP challenger Paul Workman 50 percent to 46 percent with all precincts reporting. House District 52 Democrat Diana Maldonado lost by a landslide to Republican Larry Gonzales. With 43 of 51 precincts reporting, Gonzales led Bolton 58 percent to 38 percent.