TEXAS, USA — The 2020 election saw historic turnout in cities across Brazos County, resulting in more than a 10% rise in voter turnout in numerous cities. Though these results did not change a shifting demographic and many districts remain red, Brazos and Waller Counties have elections which are ones for the books. Here are just a few standout results in this 2020 election recap:
Brazos County
More than 85,000 of the 121,587 registered voters in Brazos County showed up to participate in this year’s election process, a major shift from the 68,000 plus turnout in the 2016 presidential election.
President Donald Trump defeated now President-elect Joe Biden, receiving 47,530 votes of the total 85,061 ballots cast for president. Republican and incumbent Senator John Cornyn received 49,346 of the 84,161 total votes, beating out challenger MJ Hegar.
This shifting voter turnout is likely due to a growing registered amount of voters but also alludes to a growing population nationally that is becoming more personally invested in the political atmosphere with COVID-19, health care, tax reform and racial injustice becoming focal points of the election.
Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, mail-in ballots were more prominent than in past elections with more than 6,000 absentee ballots filed and cast. A record of 65,000 early votes was cast this year as well.
Elections 2020: Some of the night's winners
College Station City Council Place 1
In College Station, this year's city council race was a nail-biter between candidate Bob Brick and Jason Cornelius.
Brick beat his contender Jason Cornelius by just a few votes. When we say few, we saw six. Just six votes. Bob Brick received a total of 15,369 votes while Cornelius trailed behind with 15,363 votes.
Cornelius had considered getting a recount but he dropped his petition shortly after it started, naming Brick to the seat.
Councilman Bob Brick said he believes there was a large number of young voters that impacted the results of this year's election.
Robertson County
Nearly 69% of Robertson county residents arrived at their local polling stations this election season.
The top Republicans on the ticket, President Donald Trump, Senator John Cornyn and now Congressman-elect Pete Sessions received nearly 70% of the vote, soundly beating their respective opponents.
In total, 8,124 of the 11,839 registered voters made their voice heard by Election Day, a seismic increase from the 2018 midterms and 2016 presidential election.
Burleson County
A total of 13,878 of the 22,107 registered voters voted in the general election last month, another shift and increase from both the 2016 general and 2018 midterms.
President Trump soundly beat President-elect Biden, receiving 78% of the total 8,000 votes cast for president. Senator John Cornyn also received 78% of the vote, beating out Democratic opponent MJ Hegar.
In total, 62% of registered voters showed up in Burleson County, an increase from 2016 and 2018 respectively. More than 9,000 absentee ballots were filed and cast this year as well.
Lee County
A whopping 72.97% of registered voters went out to the polls in the 2020 General Election with more than half of the voting block utilizing early voting options. An increase of mail-in ballots, 692 total was a drastic increase from previous elections
Like in previous mentioned counties, President Trump and Republican lawmakers garnered nearly 80% of the vote total with up to 6,000 votes for the GOP.
In total, 8,122 Americans in Lee County practiced their right to vote.
Washington County
A total of 17,449 ballots were cast in the 2020 election in Washington County, an increase from 15,000 in the 2016 General Election.
President Trump received 12,959 of those votes, soundly beating former Vice President Biden. Senator John Cornyn received 12,988 votes, beating out his challenger and military veteran MJ Hegar.
Congressman Michael McCaul, representing Texas’ 10th Congressional District, received 13,173 votes, a small indicator that local politics is skewed more conservatively than its national counterparts.
Waller County
Waller County saw a sizable shift in the amount of participating registered voters in this year’s election compared to the 2016 presidential election.
At least 23,591 voters cast their ballots in the 2020 Election out of the 31,619 registered voters in Waller County. As for the 2016 presidential election, only 16,774 voters voted in the general election out of the 31,132 registered voters in the area.
President Donald Trump beat out President-elect Biden by 14,206 votes of the 23,591 votes cast for president. Of the 74% of votes cast, 63% of voters voted for Senator John Cornyn, defeating his Democratic opponent Mary “MJ” Hegar by 6,490 votes.
This drastic shift in voter turnout is partially due to the increase of population in the area but also because of the nation as a whole becoming more politically aware. With topics of debate like COVID relief deals, health care, climate change, tax reforms and the controversy centered around racial injustice, voters became heavily involved in this year's election.
Prairie View Mayoral Race
The City of Prairie View saw a noticeable shift in the number of registered voters participating in this year's election compared to the 2018 mayoral election.
Out of the total registered voters in Prairie View, 2,141 voters voted in this year's mayoral race. However, in 2018, only 666 voters voted out of the 5,815 registered voters.
City of Prairie View, Mayor Brian Rowland said it's good to see that shift when looking at the young voter turnout.
"It's that continuous drive and energy of the voting issues that we've had over the last 41 years that have been burning in the back of everyone's mind," Mayor Rowland said. "Specifically, students on how they're going to exercise their right."
Texas Congressional District 17
A total of nearly 56% of votes cast went to Congressman Pete Sessions in this general election. Sessions beat out his Democratic opponent Rick Kennedy, who trailed behind with a total of 41% of the vote and Libertarian Ted Brown who had 3.2% of the vote.
At least 305,624 votes were cast in this year's election opposed to the 237,351 votes cast in 2018. Sessions said he believes the young voters played a significant role in the increase of voters that came out to cast their vote this year.
"They were engaged, they voted, they saw where there was a stake in their future of the direction of the country,” Congressman Sessions said.
During the Republican primary runoff for District 17, Sessions defeated his opponent Renee Swann with a total of 18,458 votes while Swann received 15,694 of the 34,152 votes cast.
Grimes County
Grimes County Elections Administrator Lucy Ybarra, said she saw an “astronomical” turnout in the General Election. “During early voting days, we were seeing more in 2-5 days than in one entire Election Day. Early voting numbers for Grimes County surpassed 9,000 before Election Day," Ybarra said.
Of the 18,128 registered voters, 12,475 voters voted in this year's election compared to the 2016 election. In 2016 a total of 9,533 voters voted out of the 16,165 registered voters in Grimes County.
President Trump defeated President-elect Biden with a whopping 9,432 votes out of the 12,414 votes cast. President-elect Biden received 2,833 votes out of the total votes cast. Senator John Cornyn beat out his opponent “MJ” Hegar with 9,338 votes out of 12,275 votes cast while Hegar received 2,678.
The minor district races to presidential races listed on the ballot made a huge difference for voters according to Ybarra.
Madison County
From 2018 to 2020, Madison County saw a significant shift in registered voters who participated in the general election this November.
At least 9,384 voters registered this year to vote opposed to the 7,501 voters that registered to vote in 2018. The increase in registered voters is due to the growing population in Madison County over the past few years. Madison has seen an increase in population by nearly 1,000 residents since the 2018 Census.
Leon County
Of the 11,739 total registered voters in Leon County, 8,722 voters voted in this year's election, much more than compared to the 2016 presidential election.
In 2016, there were a total of 11,159 registered voters and only 60% of voters cast their ballots. The 2020 Election saw an increase of 580 registered voters that participated in the general election.
President Donald Trump whipped his opponent, President-elect Joe Biden, with a total of 7,523 votes. President-elect Biden received 1,072 votes out of the 8,722 total votes cast in the 2020 Presidential Election.
Senator John Cornyn defeated Mary “MJ” Hegar with 7,421 votes while Hegar received a total of 1,028 votes cast by registered voters in Leon County.
To see complete coverage of the 2020 Elections in the Brazos Valley, visit us YouTube. Here is access to our Election 2020 playlist: