Democratic Texas Rep. Solomon Ortiz Concedes Defeat to Republican

Published December 23, 2015

SAN ANTONIO -- U.S. Rep. Solomon Ortiz has conceded defeat to Republican challenger Blake Farenthold after a manual recount failed to make up the about 800 votes he trailed by.

Ortiz said late Monday that he called to congratulate Farenthold, a political newcomer, and that the two would meet next week in Washington.

Farenthold said the 73-year-old lawmaker was "very gracious."

Ortiz paid a $23,500 deposit for a manual recount after unofficial results showed he trailed Farenthold by 799 votes of the about 106,500 cast across the Texas 27th Congressional district.

But he conceded after the final 15,000 votes were recounted Monday in Brownsville and didn't change the final election result.

URL

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/democratic-texas-rep-solomon-ortiz-concedes-defeat-to-republican