Election night numbers cast doubt on Democrats claims of an impending ‘blue wave’

Voter turnout will play a huge role in whether Texas can “turn blue” when it comes to politics.

One of the biggest races this year will be the U.S. Senate election in November. According to the latest results, Sen. Ted Cruz secured 85 percent of the vote in the Republican primary while Congressman Beto O’Rourke won 61 percent of the vote in the Democratic primary.

“Voter turnout has been historically lethargic and low and so that has to be a trend that reverses,” said UTEP Professor Dr. Charles Boehmer, who believes rural counties will undoubtedly be solidly Republican and vote for Cruz.

Democrats were pushing for a so-called “blue wave'” across the state but that failed to materialize during Tuesday night’s primary. Democrats had a slight edge during early voting, but on election night, Republicans turned out to the polls in high numbers.

Statewide, it was the largest Democratic turnout in 17 years for a midterm primary with one million Democratic voters. The last time Texas saw those numbers was back in 2002. Republicans, however, still led – casting 1.5 million ballots.

Boehmer tells ABC-7 an anti-Trump sentiment fueled Democrats this election season. “The idea of turning Texas blue, if it happens, it will take a long time. So this year, the election may be a good opportunity to make it seem a little bit more purple, but Texas overall, is a conservative state,” Dr. Boehmer said.

While the blue wave didn’t quite make landfall Tuesday night, Boehmer says there are several battleground areas that may be up for grabs, including suburban communities and bigger cities.

“There are a few battleground house districts ,such as Will Hurd’s stretch, which is El Paso to San Antonio. As a district, that is particularly very wide and has swung back-and-forth between Republican and Democrat,” Dr. Boehmer said.

Even if Democrats are able to win statewide races, Boehmer believes a major shift would need to happen in order for Texas to remain a blue state on a long-term basis. “In the future, if the Republican Party changes its orientation on issues like immigration, it may make Latinos fair game between both parties,” he said.

The general election is in November.