JEFFERSON COUNTY, Texas — Republicans held a huge victory in Jefferson County during the 2022 midterm elections on November 8, 2022.
Voters reelected Judge Jeff Branick for a 4th term. Republican Roxanne Acosta-Hellberg beat out her opponent for Jefferson County Clerk and Gordon Friesz won the 317th District Court seat.
One of the lone Democrats to win was Christian "Manuel" Hayes, who won the Texas House District 22 seat.
Political Science Professor at Lamar University Dr. James Nelson says Jefferson County isn't red, but is trending red for many reasons.
This is the first election the straight ticket vote option was eliminated. Nelson says that option historically benefited Democrats.
And because this midterm was a non-presidential year, this means historically low voter turnout.
"Some people are less likely to participate that all was a factor, so I think that what you would expect to see in a midterm election with a relatively unpopular Democrat president happened in Jefferson County," said Nelson.
Meanwhile Jefferson County Republican Chairman Joe Evans says he believes his party candidates worked harder to reach voters in different demographics.
"We made beautiful relationship with the Muslim community, we tapped into the Black community, we made in roads into the Hispanic community so we wanted to make sure that every face of our community was involved and it paid off in the end," Evans said.
12News reached out to Jefferson County Democratic Chair Ava Graves for her reaction to the midterm numbers.
She was not immediately available for comment, but statewide democratic leaders provided a statement:
"The most important thing we can do as Texas democrats right now is stay in the fight. Democrats will continue to make gains in cities and counties across the state with competent and values driven leaders elected into positions that affects millions of Texans"
Dr. Nelson says the presidential election will most likely generate more voters come 2024.