Election results 2020: Trish DeBerry elected to Bexar County Commissioner, Precinct 3

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Republican Trish DeBerry defeats Democrat Christine Hortick in Precinct 3 race

1:17 a.m. — Republican Trish DeBerry has defeated Democrat Christine Hortick in the race for the Bexar County Precinct 3 commissioner seat. Deberry will fill the seat left vacant by Kevin Wolff, who served for three terms on the Commissioners Court.

10:23 p.m. — Trish DeBerry remains ahead in the Precinct 3 race against Christine Hortick with 33% of precincts reporting.

DeBerry currently has 54% of the vote, while Hortick trails behind at 46%. DeBerry’s lead consists of more than 20,000 votes.

If the result holds, DeBerry will keep the county commissioner seat Republican. It’s the only Republican county commissioner seat in Bexar County.

7:14 p.m. — With early votes and a portion of absentee ballots counted in Bexar County, Trish DeBerry has taken a lead over Christine Hortick in the Precinct 3 race.

DeBerry garnered 132,565 votes from the North Side precinct, while Hortick trails with 112,661 votes.

Nearly 30,000 absentee ballots have been counted in this race along with 217,000 in-person early votes.

Election Day votes have not been counted yet, according to the Bexar County Elections website.

Background

With outgoing Precinct 3 Commissioner Kevin Wolff, a Republican, leaving the seat vacant after three terms, the race is likely to be one of the most competitive in Bexar County.

The North Side precinct stretches west to east from Bandera Road to Wetmore Road and from the northern perimeter of Loop 410 to the Bexar County line (find out which precinct you live in here).

DeBerry is the founder of marketing agency The DeBerry Group, a former TV anchor and ran an ultimately unsuccessful mayoral campaign in 2009 against Julian Castro as Phil Hardberger reached his term limit.

Hortick, a political newcomer, is an attorney who runs her own practice and once served as a congressional aide to the late U.S. Sen. Ted Kennedy. She currently serves as the president of the Bexar County Children’s Court Attorney Association.

Precinct 3, the most affluent precinct in the county, has in recent years been the only stronghold for conservatives on the Democratic-controlled commissioner’s court.

While Wolff won in 2016 with 58.6% of the vote, turnout is expected to be at record levels in 2020. Generally, higher turnout in Texas benefits Democrats.

Other competitive, Republican-held seats that overlap the precinct — like Texas House District 121 or Congressional District 21 — are being targeted by state and congressional Democrats and could help Hortick turnout left-leaning voters.

While some political observers believe that President Trump’s polarizing tenure could cause problems for down-ballot Republicans, no straight-ticket option this year might help mitigate the issue for candidates like DeBerry.

DeBerry won the GOP nomination for the seat over Tom Rickhoff during the July runoff election, securing 55 percentage points. Hortick won the nomination outright in the March primary.

Only two women have ever held a seat on Bexar County Commissioner’s Court, according to the Express-News, whose editorial board in February endorsed Hortick.

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