SAN ANTONIO – Incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Will Hurd is urging Democratic challenger Gina Ortiz Jones to concede the race for the 23rd District House seat.
Hurd has an 1,150 vote lead over Ortiz Jones, but a winner has yet to be declared.
Ortiz Jones is waiting for other ballots to be counted.
"We're working to make sure that every voter is heard at the ballot box. There's several provisional ballots, military, overseas ballots, we wanna make sure every vote, every voter is heard," she said Thursday in an interview at KSAT 12.
But Hurd campaign manager Justin Hollis said Thursday those ballots will not be enough for Ortiz Jones to win.
"While we agree that all votes must be counted, it's also time for Gina Jones to acknowledge that Will Hurd maintains over a 1,150 vote lead that is insurmountable given the small number of uncounted ballots," he said. "A television interview that smacks of desperation will do nothing to change the reality of the situation; it only highlights the priority she puts on her own aspirations rather those of the citizens of the 23rd Congressional District."
It appeared that Ortiz Jones was resigned to having lost the election after The Associated Press called the race for Hurd late Tuesday night.
But at 12:49 a.m. Wednesday, the AP withdrew its call for the race, saying higher-than-anticipated votes came in for the Democrat. About two hours later, the results showed Ortiz Jones winning by 282 votes, but that changed about an hour later, giving Hurd the lead again by 689 votes.
If the provisional and other ballots don't get Ortiz Jones over the top, she hasn't said if she will ask for a recount.