Erik Gomez, 26, is one of the youngest mayors in Texas. He leads Sabinal, a town of about 1,300 people an hour west of San Antonio. Gomez backed U.S. Sen. John Cornyn in the Republican primary. Cornyn lost to Attorney General Ken Paxton by 27 points, according to the story.
Before the May runoff, Gomez posted on social media warning voters about Paxton's scandals. Those include an impeachment by Texas House Republicans over allegations that Paxton abused his office. The Senate acquitted him. Gomez said of Cornyn, "He was doing right by Texas."
Since Cornyn's loss, Gomez has said he is open to supporting Paxton. He said Paxton's surrogates had contacted him. Gomez has already voted but would not say how he voted at the top of the ticket.
Early voting figures suggest high turnout among Latino Texans. Joshua Blank of the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas at Austin said Republicans face a challenge in keeping voters in a difficult environment. "In an election like this, it's going to be about a lot of tiny margins," Blank said.