Donald Trump

Amid Few Statewide Races, Texas Focuses on Trump-Clinton

The polls have opened across all of Texas on what's turned into a soggy Election Day for many voters.

There are no major statewide offices on the Texas ballot, and Republican Donald Trump is expected to win a fiercely conservative state that hasn't backed a Democrat since Jimmy Carter in 1976.

But could Hillary Clinton keep it competitive?

Will she be buoyed by Texas Hispanics spurred to register and vote after Trump's promises to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border and harsh immigration rhetoric? Could Trump uneasiness cost Republican Rep. Will Hurd his West Texas seat?

Hurd edged former Democratic Rep. Pete Gallego in 2014, and their rematch should be Texas' only competitive congressional race, though all 36 House seats are on Tuesday's ballot.

All Texas House seats and 16 state senators are also up for election. But no matter the outcome, both chambers should remain solidly Republican-controlled.

9:45 a.m.

A woman in line to vote at George Bush High School in Richmond, near Houston, says machine problems forced dozens of people to leave in search of new places to cast their ballots.

Andrea Patience says as many as a 100 people were in line Tuesday morning when just one of the eight voting machines was working, then all of the machines crashed.

Patience says election officials advised the waiting voters and suggested at least one other place to vote. Patience says about half of the people waiting to vote — left.

Patience, a 50-year-old native of Jamaica who became an American about 15 years ago, says she waited in line for about an hour until the machines were fixed, around 8:10 a.m. Tuesday.

The pharmacy technician, who says she's registered Democrat, then voted for Hillary Clinton for president. Patience says, as an immigrant, that she likes Clinton's proposals for immigration.

8:11 a.m.

The polls have opened across all of Texas on what's turned into a soggy Election Day for some voters.

The National Weather Service reported rain or misty conditions Tuesday morning in Dallas, Fort Worth, Corpus Christi, Lubbock, Waco, Greenville and Kerrville.

Voters in Austin, Houston and San Antonio can expect a chance of thunderstorms through Tuesday night.

The polls close at 7 p.m.

7:09 a.m.

The polls have opened in Texas as voters make their choices for president and other elected offices.

The Secretary of State's Office says Texas had 15.1 million registered voters going into Tuesday's election.

Almost 4.5 million Texas residents cast early ballots in the state's 15 largest counties. Early voting ended Friday.

Experts say Texas should surpass its 2008 record of 8 million voters.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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