AUSTIN, Texas — Texas Democratic Rep. James Talarico declared early Wednesday morning that “every vote must be counted” in Texas’s Democratic Senate primary after confusion over voting hours in Dallas County delayed results.

Talarico, who was leading the race as of 1:26 a.m. with 53.2% of votes to primary opponent Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX)’s 45.5%, with 79% of ballots counted, held off on claiming victory until there was an official call on the race.

“Tonight, our campaign is shocking the nation,” Talarico said as he addressed his supporters around midnight. “We are still waiting for an official call, but we are confident in this movement we’ve built together. Every vote must be counted, every voice must be heard. The voter suppression in my home county and in Congresswoman Crockett’s home county underscores the gravity of this moment. This movement is about whether the people will hold the power in this state and in this country.”

Talarico then went on to shake hands and meet supporters in the crowd, while others stood behind his podium holding signs that read “LOVE THY NEIGHBOR” and “TAKE BACK TEXAS.”

As of Tuesday night, Talarico had remained in the lead, but Crockett refused to concede or challenge the results with Dallas votes remaining uncounted. Crockett left her election night party at 10:00 p.m Eastern time, telling supporters she would not be back because “I have no idea when we’re going to get results.”

The state’s high court granted a request from Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is headed for a runoff against Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) to be the Republican Senate nominee, to halt a Dallas County judge’s order that had extended voting hours from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. The court told election officials to separate ballots cast for anyone not in line by 7 p.m. 

JAMES TALARICO OFFERS DEMOCRATS A VISION OF FAITH THAT DOESN’T CONFLICT WITH THE LEFT

“What this means is that we will not know what votes are to be tallied from election day out of Dallas County for sure,” she said. “In my opinion, we will not know the election results overall tonight.”

Democrats are waiting with bated breath to see who will win the primary race, as the party looks to win its first Senate race in Texas since 1988.