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As it happenedended

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Texas midterm elections - as it happened: Ted Cruz wins tight Senate race against Beto O'Rourke

New York

Wednesday 07 November 2018 10:09 GMT

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Ted Cruz congratulates Beto O'Rourke 'he poured his heart into this campaign'

Texas voters have re-elected Republican Ted Cruz to the US Senate after a tight battle with Democrat Beto O’Rourke.

The Senate seat for the Lone Star state remains ruby red after the historic 2018 midterms, though analysts said Mr O’Rourke brought a wave of Democratic voters to the ballots and could prove a viable candidate in the 2020 presidential elections.

His candidacy may have proven beneficial for Democrats like Gina Ortiz Jones whose bid to win the House of Representatives seat of Republican Will Hurd in the state’s 23rd district was too close to call.

Mr Cruz was not the only Republican to fight back against Democrats threatening the GOP’s hold on the region, however.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott also won a second term by defeating Democrat Lupe Valdez in a race whose outcome was seldom in doubt.

US midterm elections: voters head to the polls

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1/28US midterm elections: voters head to the polls

US midterm elections: voters head to the polls

Beto O'Rourke talks with a supporters after he cast his ballot at El Paso Community College-Rio Grande Campus

Getty Images

US midterm elections: voters head to the polls

Sarah Salem, 34, swims as voters cast their ballots at Echo Deep Pool in Los Angeles

AP

US midterm elections: voters head to the polls

Abigail Spanberger, Democratic candidate to represent Virginia's seventh Congressional district in the US House of Representatives; casts her ballot to vote in the 2018 midterm general election, with her daughters Claire (L), Charlotte (Bottom C) and Catherine (R); inside a polling station located at Deep Run High School in Glen Allen,

EPA

US midterm elections: voters head to the polls

A voter waits behind a line to cast their vote at a Fulton County polling place in Atlanta, Georgia

REUTERS

US midterm elections: voters head to the polls

Representative Peter King and his wife Rosemary hand in their completed ballots as voters turn out at the Manor Elementary School in Seaford

AP

US midterm elections: voters head to the polls

Two year old Mave Adilatta looks out from a voting booth as her mother casts her ballot in Cambridge, Massachusetts

EPA

US midterm elections: voters head to the polls

Beto O'Rourke, candidate for US Senate, speaks with reporters after voting

REUTERS

US midterm elections: voters head to the polls

A voters fills out their ballot for the midterm election at a polling place in Madison, Wisconsin

REUTERS

US midterm elections: voters head to the polls

Congresswomen Elect Ayanna Pressley speaks to reporters after voting at the Adams Street Library

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US midterm elections: voters head to the polls

A sign showing voters where to cast their ballots in the 2018 midterm election in the Mt Airy neighborhood in Philadelphia

EPA

US midterm elections: voters head to the polls

Democratic candidate for Vermont Governor Christine Hallquist leaves after voting in Hyde Park, Vermont

EPA

US midterm elections: voters head to the polls

Members of the group Your Vote Matters place signs on an overpass in Saint Louis, Missouri

EPA

US midterm elections: voters head to the polls

Voters cast their ballots at a polling station setup in a City of Hialeah Fire Station

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US midterm elections: voters head to the polls

Voters enter a polling station in Des Moines, Iowa

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US midterm elections: voters head to the polls

Volunteers with the Democratic party take cover from the rain as they wait to speak to voters outside of a polling station

AFP/Getty Images

US midterm elections: voters head to the polls

Voters cast their ballots in the 2018 midterm election at the Fraternal Order of Eagles in Streetsboro, Ohio

EPA

US midterm elections: voters head to the polls

Democratic candidate for Vermont Governor Christine Hallquist campaigns in Stowe

EPA

US midterm elections: voters head to the polls

A voter of the Jewish community is seen leaving after he cast his ballot in the midterm election at the East Midwood Jewish Center polling station in the Brooklyn borough of New York City

AFP/Getty Images

US midterm elections: voters head to the polls

A man wearing a New York Yankees hat votes during in Manhattan

Reuters

US midterm elections: voters head to the polls

Voters line up to cast their ballot just before the polls open in the mid-term election in Miami

Getty

US midterm elections: voters head to the polls

Voters cast their ballots at the Tuttle Park Recreation Center polling location in Columbus, Ohio

AP

US midterm elections: voters head to the polls

Stickers that read 'I Voted' are seen at a polling station located at Deep Run High School in Glen Allen, Virginia

EPA

US midterm elections: voters head to the polls

Poll workers check over voting machinery before voters arrive at Franklin School in Ohio USA

EPA

US midterm elections: voters head to the polls

Voters cast their ballots at Immaculate Conception Parish Hall in Ravenna, Ohio

EPA

US midterm elections: voters head to the polls

Election judges take the oath before opening a polling location in Arlington Heights, Illinois

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US midterm elections: voters head to the polls

Voters arrive at the Tuttle Park Recreation Center in Columbus, Ohio

AP

US midterm elections: voters head to the polls

People vote in Manhattan

Reuters

US midterm elections: voters head to the polls

A voter uses an electronic voting machine

AP

Mr Cruz congratulated Mr O’Rourke during a celebratory speech on Tuesday night, saying his opponent “poured his heart” into the race.

Meanwhile, Mr O’Rourke said he was “so f****** proud” of his supporters in a viral concession speech that essentially left the door open to his running against Donald Trump in 2020.

The president played a key role in the US Senate race, throwing his support behind Mr Cruz and stumping for the Republican despite the two previously hurling exchanges towards each other in the 2016 presidential election.

To catch up on how the evening progressed follow our live blog below

Please take a moment for the live blog above to load.

Chris Stevenson7 November 2018 06:33

Here is some more on what the 'Beto effect' might have bought to democrats in Texas.

Chris Stevenson7 November 2018 07:04

Democrats in Texas have come closer to taking a significant number of seats in the state than they have in two decades - which the party will look to build on.

But the Republicans maintained control of the two high courts and kept dominant majorities in both houses of the state legislature and in the delegation to the US Congress.

Chris Stevenson7 November 2018 07:20

With that we are closing our coverage for now. Thanks for reading.

Chris Stevenson7 November 2018 07:30

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