Beth Van Duyne declares victory in tight race with Candace Valenzuela in Texas’ 24th Congressional District

Republican Beth Van Duyne declared victory late Tuesday over Democrat Candace Valenzuela, holding a conservative firewall in one of Texas’ most closely watched open congressional races.

Van Duyne, the former Irving mayor, led narrowly in the suburban district between Dallas and Fort Worth that had become increasingly competitive and stop the party’s erosion in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Winning will likely catapult her to national prominence and provide a new blueprint for Republicans trying to win races in competitive districts. Valenzuela had not yet conceded and the Associated Press had not called the race as of midnight.

While Valenzuela was leading in Dallas and Denton counties, Van Duyne opened a wide margin in Tarrant County late Tuesday. Van Duyne told supporters she believed the lead was too large for Valenzuela to win.

“We’re going to go ahead and call it,” she said to supporters. “I know this has been a very close and tight race. But once you’re elected you represent all of us. I commit to you tonight not only will I represent everyone in this room, but everyone in this district.”

Valenzuela’s campaign called Van Duyne’s move irresponsible, in part because of the tight race and unknown number of mail ballots had not yet been counted. Faulty machinery and mail ballots with illegible barcodes in Tarrant County were partly to blame for the delay in results. Election workers were trying to manually copy each ballot.

“Beth Van Duyne’s declaration of victory is premature and irresponsible,” said Geoffrey Simspon, the campaign’s manager. “We have seen unprecedented turnout and thousands of votes are still being counted. Our campaign is committed to a full and complete count of all ballots so that every vote is counted and every voice is heard.”

The race for the seat left open by Coppell Republican Kenny Marchant, who retired after 15 years, came down to two different perceptions of what it means to live in suburban Dallas.

The 24th district, like many suburban battlegrounds across Texas and the nation, has shifted demographically.

When the seat was drawn in 2010, fewer than 700,000 lived here and 47% were people of color. Today, there are an estimated 817,000 residents in the district’s cities such as Coppell, Grapevine, Irving and Farmers Branch — and now a majority, or 55%, are not white.

Van Duyne, 49, ran a campaign promising to bring her local government experience to Washington. Echoing both her own previous campaigns and a nationwide effort by Republicans, she focused on support for police. She also promised to fight for more financial help for small business weathering the pandemic.

Van Duyne and her allies tried to paint Valenzuela, a former Carrollton-Farmers Branch school board trustee, as too progressive for the suburban district.

Van Duyne attempted to tie Valenzuela to far-left activists who support abolishing police departments. During her runoff election in July, Valenzuela denounced calls to defund the police and said local governments should pay them more in order to afford to live in the communities they represent.

Tim Bolton, an Irving resident, said he voted for Van Duyne because she reflects his conservative values. Bolton said he wants low taxes and a go-slow approach to government programs.

“I just want to strengthen conservatism in the DFW area,” Bolton said outside Irving City Hall, where he voted about 1 p.m. “The voting here is getting too liberal.”

Valenzuela and her allies attacked Van Duyne for being too cozy with President Donald Trump and his handling of the pandemic, which has killed more than 231,000 Americans.

Van Duyne had made restarting the economy a priority with “common sense” safety precautions.

The candidates took shots at each other over their personal reaction to the virus. Van Duyne attacked Valenzuela for not campaigning in person. Valenzuela’s allies pointed out Van Duyne’s uneven use of masks in public.

The district’s open seat sparked large primary contests among both major political parties. Van Duyne, who secured an endorsement from Trump, cleared the Republican field easily in March.