A proposed charter amendment that would decriminalize small amounts of marijuana in Dallas got strong support from Dallas residents who filled out their ballots before Election Day.
And State Rep. Mihaela Plesa — the first Democrat elected to a statehouse seat in three decades — has a narrow lead over her Republican opponent.
Dallas County residents who voted early came out strongly for Democrat Collin Allred, who is trying to unseat Republican incumbent Ted Cruz, and favored Vice President Kamela Harris, who is running against former President Donald J. Trump for the nation’s highest elected office. But voters in Tarrant, Collin and Denton County tilted towards Cruz and Trump.
Tarrant County Sheriff Bill Waybourn, who is seeking a third term, had a significant lead over his Democratic opponent.
Here’s how early voting turned out in some key races.
Dallas Charter amendments
Proposition R, which would decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana in Dallas, added to the ballot because a group called Ground Game Texas got enough signatures on a petition. Almost 65% of early voters supported it, and about 35% opposed it
Dallas voters also weighed in on three controversial propositions on the ballot that — if passed — would significantly change how city government and the Dallas Police Department operates before election day.
Proposition S would empower Dallas residents to bring legal action against the city to compel city leaders to “comply with any of the provisions” of the charter.” Proposition T would tie the city manager’s compensation to “citizen satisfaction” with city services. And
Proposition U would mandate that the city increase the number of sworn police officers to “at least 4,000” — adding about 900 officers to the force.
A group called Dallas HERO collected enough signatures on a petition to get those propositions added to the ballot.
In early voting, about 51% of Dallas residents supported Proposition S and almost 49 percent opposed it. Proposition T got about 41.5% of the early vote and almost 59% of the early voters opposed it. And almost 48% of early voters favored Proposition U, while about 52% opposed it.
House District 70
Just a few years ago, Plesa became the first Democrat elected to a statehouse seat in Collin County in three decades. Democrats hoped her success might be the beginning of a political shift in Collin County, which has been a Republican stronghold. Her Republican opponent, Steve Kinard, has predicted the district will make a U-turn back to the Republican Party because of Democratic positions on the border and gender-related issues.
In early voting, Plesa got 51.7% of the votes and Kinard got 48.3%.
Tarrant County sheriff race
Waybourn ran for reelection against Democrat Patrick Moses following months of mounting scrutiny over the number of jail deaths in the Tarrant County Jail. There have been at least 65 deaths in Tarrant County Jail custody since Waybourn took office in 2017.
Waybourn has a national profile as a conservative sheriff and is one of the founders of the controversial election integrity task force in Tarrant County. Moses has a background in federal law enforcement. He’s said he would start a civilian review board to examine every death in custody.
Waybourn picked up almost 54.5% of the early votes and Moses got 45.5%.
Denton County sheriff race
Another North Texas sheriff’s race took place in Denton County with incumbent Denton County Sheriff Tracy Murphree, a Republican, running against Democrat Fredrick Bishop.
Murphree has served two years as Denton County sheriff while this is Bishop’s first time running for office.
Murphree picked up 60% of the early voted and Bishop received 39.8%.
Texas House District 12
Republican Rep. Angie Chen Button is seeking a ninth term in the Texas Legislature. She’s opposed by Democrat Averie Bishop, a former Miss Texas. This is the second time in Texas history that two Asian American candidates have faced off in the general election for a legislative seat.
Button got 54.3% of the early votes, and Bishop got almost 45.7%.
District 1 Dallas County Commissioner race
Incumbent Theresa Daniel, a long-time social science researcher, got 59.4% of the early votes and her opponent, local businessman Jason Metcalf, got almost 40.6%.
Presidential race
Trump carried Texas in the 2016 and the 2020 election. He got almost 52.4% of the early votes in Tarrant County, 54.5% in Collin County, almost 37.4% in Dallas County and 56.3% in Denton County.
Harris got 46.5% of the early votes in Tarrant County, 42.9% in Collin County, almost 60.6% in Dallas County and 42.4% in Denton County.
U.S. Senate race
Cruz received 50% of the early votes in Tarrant County, 54.5% in Collin County and 35.2% in Dallas County and 54% in Denton County. Allred received 48% of the early votes in Tarrant County, 45.6% in Collin County, almost 62.9% in Dallas County and 44% in Denton County
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