After months of political games, tricks, advertising and commentary, voters went to the polls Nov. 6 to choose local and national candidates.
In Harris County, once massively dominated by Republicans, President Barack Obama eked out a win, carrying a few local Democrats with him, including Sheriff Adrian Garcia.
Garcia won re-election over former Harris County deputy Louis Guthrie by a 53 percent to 45 percent margin, despite Guthrie receiving the endorsement of the Harris County Deputies Organization.
Another close race was one for the Harris County District Attorney's Office. Republican mike Anderson defeated Democrat Lloyd Oliver, despite the Democratic Party's attempts to remove Oliver from the ballot.
Democrat County Attorney Vince Ryan also won re-election by a slim margin, grabbing 51 percent of the vote over Republican Robert Talton. He was helped by a large democratic turnout on Election Day.
In races with national implications, Republican Ted Cruz narrowly won Harris County over Democrat Paul Sadler, by one-a-half percent.
Republican Kevin Brady easily won re-election to his U.S. House of Representatives seat, defeating Neil Burns. Brady attributed his win to his ability to not become one of the Washington establishment.
"Because I've never moved to Washington, voters know I never forget who I work for," Brady said. "Representing our communities in Congress is a privilege and I'm very thankful to my constituents for sending me back to work for them. I'll continue to fight for a stronger economy, lower taxes, balanced budget, secure border and greater freedom from the growing threat of big government."
Brady said he will try and convince colleagues in the House to tackle tough issues in the next session.
"America is standing at a precarious point," he said. "The President and Congress simply can't keep ducking the tough issues. We need to act now – right now – to tackle America's dangerous debt crisis, reform our oppressive tax code and find real solutions to preserve Social Security and Medicare for every generation without raising taxes. The U.S. House has already approved good ideas and sound solutions. All we need are a Senate and a President with the political will to work with us to get the job done – now."
Congressman Michael McCaul also won re-election. McCaul said that the election results amount to a message that his party will have to work together with President Obama for the good of the nation, but without compromising on their basic principles.
McCaul recently told reporters that immigration reform could be possible in the next session, if lawmakers and the President can come together on issues they agree on.
Montgomery County races were mainly uncontested in the Republican stronghold, as were State Representative races in the Tomball area.
