Democratic District 24 challenger Candace Valenzuela has conceded her race against Republican Beth Van Duyne for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Van Duyne came away with a lead of around 5,000 votes on election night and declared herself the winner. Days later, Van Duyne called for Valenzuela's concession but Valenzuela said she'd be waiting for all of the votes to be tallied before conceding the race.
On Tuesday, with 100% of the votes tallied in Dallas, Denton and Tarrant counties, Valenzuela admitted her defeat.
"Now that nearly all the votes have been counted and there is no longer a path, we are conceding. I want to congratulate Beth Van Duyne on her victory," Valenzuela said in a statement shared on Twitter. "Even though we didn't win this race, we've forced the gatekeepers of the political process to reimagine who belongs at the table."
Valenzuela said there is still much work to be done and that she'll continue to be a tireless advocate for schools and working families in North Texas.
Following Valenzuela's concession, Van Duyne's campaign issued the following statement on her behalf.
"I am honored the people of North Texas have placed their faith and trust in me to serve as their voice in Congress. This was a hard-fought election under the most challenging and bizarre of circumstances we have ever seen. I'm so humbled and thankful for the tens of thousands of people who were willing to engage with our campaign and personally speak with me about the difficulties they are facing and their aspirations for the future of their families and North Texas," Van Duyne said. "My pledge to the people of the 24th District is that no matter whom you supported in this election, I will work tirelessly for you and your family to expand job opportunities, deliver sustainable growth for our region, and empower all of our citizens with a stronger, brighter future."
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Van Duyne has served two terms as mayor of Irving and prior to that was on the Irving City Council. She also briefly served in the Trump administration overseeing Housing and Urban Development operations in five states, including Texas. According to her campaign, she's now only the second Republican woman in history to be elected to a full term in the U.S. House of Representatives.
With the District 24 win, Van Duyne will serve approximately 700,000 residents in portions of Dallas, Denton and Tarrant counties.
“I commit to you tonight that not only is it important to represent everyone in this room but everyone in this district,” Van Duyne said previously.
Van Duyne’s biggest support came from Tarrant County where she carried most of the county in District 24 with the exception of areas in Bedford and Euless. The conservative politician beat Valenzuela in Tarrant County by about 27,000 votes. Valenzuela won in Dallas and Denton counties, however, by about 18,000 and 3,000 votes, respectively.
Three other candidates in the race, Darren Hamilton, Steve Kuzmich and Mark Bauer, picked up the remaining 13,000 votes of the 341,000 votes cast in the election.
