Will Hurd, Dem opponent locked in close battle for Texas swing seat

Rep. Will Hurd (R-Texas) and his Democratic challenger were running neck and neck for the race to fill the seat in Texas’s 23rd District.

The Associated Press had initially called the race for Hurd on Tuesday night. But his apparent victory was thrown into confusion early Wednesday morning when results from the Texas secretary of state showed that his Democratic challenger, Gina Ortiz Jones, had pulled ahead by a razor-thin margin. The AP later rescinded its call.

The district is majority Hispanic and runs along 800 miles of the southern border. Democrats have had a huge target on his back since he flipped the seat red in 2014.

Despite the electoral headwinds facing Republicans this cycle, Hurd appeared better-positioned to hang onto his seat than the two other GOP congressman representing seats in Texas that Hillary Clinton carried in 2016. {mosads}

The GOP congressman framed himself as a moderate lawmaker particularly on immigration and voted against an ObamaCare repeal. He also made headlines for criticizing President Trump in an op-ed about being manipulated by Russia.

But Ortiz Jones pushed back on his moderate bona fides, noting that he voted an overwhelming majority of the time with Trump and also supported the GOP tax law. She was angling to become the first Filipina American elected to Congress.

Note: This story was updated with new results from the Texas secretary of state.