Election News

Senator Ted Cruz reelected in race against Colin Allred

Senator Ted Cruz

Ted Cruz

Incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz is projected to win a third term as the senator from Texas in his race against Democratic U.S. Rep Colin Allred on Tuesday.

Texas witnessed one of the most expensive and closely watched Senate races in history as the candidates raised more than $160 million combined this election.

An Allred victory would have given Texas its first Black senator and boost the Democrats' chances of maintaining their narrow Senate majority. Texas has not elected a Democrat to the Senate since 1988.

The Associated Press proclaimed Cruz the winner. As of 10:39 pm, Cruz had 5,580,956 votes or 53.8 percent, while Allred had 4,563,546 votes or 44 percent; Libertarian Ted Brown drew 231,050 votes or 2.2 percent.

Cruz started serving Texas in the U.S. Senate in 2013 after defeating Democrat Paul Sadler. Cruz took over the seat previously held by Kay Bailey Hutchinson, who decided not to seek re-election in 2012.

The Harvard-educated Cruz became the first Hispanic to serve as a U.S. senator from Texas. Before that, Cruz served as a domestic policy advisor to George W. Bush during his 2000 presidential campaign and served as Solicitor General of Texas from 2003 to 2008.

According to the Associated Press, Democrat Julie Johnson won the U.S. House seat that Allred vacated to run for the Senate. Johnson is a trial attorney who will be the first openly gay member of Congress from Texas. She served three terms as a state lawmaker, where she championed LGTBQ rights at the state Capitol. She has also said that women's health care would be a priority of hers in Congress and that she would vote to put abortion rights in federal law.

In addition to the presidential race, Texas Senate race and many others, voters in Austin had another major contest to consider: the race for mayor.

Current Mayor Kirk Watson appeared to narrowly avoid a runoff with 100% of precincts reporting holding 50.01% of the vote.

Watson delivered a speech on Tuesday night as he led the race against four challengers: former Austin City Council member Kathie Tovo, community organizer Carmen Llanes Pulido, interfaith organizer Doug Greco and construction company owner Jeff Bowen.

Read the full story and watch the video at KVUE.com. This story also includes short passages from coverage by the Associated Press and another KVUE story about the mayoral race.

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merry xmas atx!

Austin makes merry as one of the best cities to celebrate Christmas

City of Austin Government - Facebook

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Austinites are right at home when it comes to experiencing the best Christmas in Texas this year. The very merry state capital has jumped into the No. 23 spot on WalletHub's annual list of the best cities for celebrating Christmas in 2024.

The yearly report ranks the 100 most populous U.S. cities across five key dimensions: Traditions and fun, observance, generosity, shopping opportunities, plus travel and meal costs.

Austin previously ranked as the No. 31 best U.S. city for celebrating Christmas in WalletHub's 2023 report.

Here's how Austin performed in the five main categories in the study:

No. 19 – Traditions and fun rank
No. 20 – Shopping rank
No. 36 – Costs rank
No. 42 – Generosity rank
No. 72 – Observance rank

Austin gets to cheer itself on as the highest-ranked Texas city in 2024 thanks to its heap of holiday happenings, including numerous delightful light displays throughout town. From local restaurants and bars putting their all into creating festive feasts to-go and delightful cocktail experiences, to locals supporting small businesses at holiday markets, there is plenty to get Austinites in the holiday spirit this year.

Smaller Central Texas towns like Smithville have also transformed into fun, festive escapes for city dwellers this time of year.

Austin households also have bigger holiday budgets in 2024 than they did the year before. According to a separate WalletHub study, the average Austin household is expected to spend about $1,905 on Christmas gifts this year, versus $1,877 in 2023.

"With inflation making Christmas celebrations, gifts, food and travel more expensive, certain cities are much better for your wallet than others during the holiday," said WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo. "In addition to being affordable, the best cities have a large number of people celebrating, plenty of places for Christians to worship, populations who give generously to charity, and plenty of fun activities to enjoy with family and friends."

In a separate report by home services provider Thumbtack, Austin was crowned the No. 1 most festive U.S. city for the third year in a row.

Elsewhere in Texas, other festive cities that earned spots in the top 50 include San Antonio (No. 30), Dallas (No. 31), and Houston (No. 41).

The top 10 best places to experience Christmas in 2024 are:

No. 1 – Atlanta, Georgia
No. 2 – Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
No. 3 – Seattle, Washington
No. 4 – Las Vegas, Nevada
No. 5 – Orlando, Florida
No. 6 – San Francisco, California
No. 7 – St. Louis, Missouri
No. 8 – Miami, Florida
No. 9 – Chicago, Illinois
No. 10 – New York, New York

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