2012 Congressional Election
On May 29, 2012, O'Rourke defeated eight-term incumbent Silvestre Reyes in the primaries to face Republican Barbara Carrasco in the general election. O'Rourke took 50.5 percent of the vote, just a few hundred votes above the threshold required to avoid a runoff. However, the 16th is a heavily Democratic, majority-Latino district, and it was understood that O'Rourke had effectively clinched a seat in Congress with his victory in the primary. He easily defeated Carrasco in the general election with 65 percent of the vote. He will be one of three Anglo Democrats from Texas in the 113th Congress, the others being Lloyd Doggett and Gene Green.
Read more about this topic: Beto O'Rourke
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