Texas Primary: Democratic Votes Surge, But Republicans Recover Early Vote Deficit

Updated at 1:45 a.m. ET Wednesday

Texans cast their votes in primaries Tuesday, the first contests of the 2018 election cycle. Democrats turned out in numbers not seen in more than a decade — with outcomes in various races bringing about both history and controversy — though far more Republican voters showed up at the polls across the deep red state.

Driven by anti-President Trump fervor, there were plenty of positive signs for a once-latent Democratic Party in Texas. Early vote turnout for the minority party over the past two weeks had surpassed GOP totals — and even bested their own 2016 numbers. Democrats fielded a record number of candidates in all 36 congressional districts, and there's the potential to flip maybe three or more seats come November.

By the early hours of Wednesday, Democratic vote totals neared 1 million, nearly doubling totals from 2014 and reaching a level not seen in a midterm primary for the party since 2002.

Republican vote totals exceeded