Ahead of Election Day, The Texas Tribune spoke with voters across Texas about the issues that mattered most to them. The races drew national attention, including a governor's race between a long-tenured governor and a former school teacher, and a U.S. Senate race between Attorney General Ken Paxton and state Rep. James Talarico.
In Odessa, an oil-and-gas town in West Texas, voters were divided. Many said economic hardship, including higher prices for gas and groceries, weighed on them, but they said giving up their conservative beliefs was not an option.
Eugenio and Margarita Bersosa moved to Odessa from Mexico in 1974. They said anti-abortion laws, support for Israel and policies on transgender people outweighed rising expenses, and they voted for a full Republican ticket. Margarita, 75, said many Democrats support abortion and gender changes for young people, which she called an insult to their religious beliefs. Eugenio, 77, said the couple's religious values do not align with those positions.