The Race Between Jones And Hurd For the House is Contested, But Jones Still Attends House Orientation

WASHINGTON, DC – NOVEMBER 14: Newly elected members of the House of Representatives pose for an official class photo outside the U.S. Capitol on November 14, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – Democrat Gina Ortiz Jones has been in Washington attending orientation for new members of Congress despite Republican incumbent Rep. Will Hurd continuing to hold a lead of 1,000-plus votes in their contested race to represent a sprawling West Texas district.

The race is close enough that Ortiz Jones could seek a recount and still has a couple of weeks to do so. She’s more than 1,000 votes behind Hurd out of 209,000 counted.

Ortiz Jones hasn’t so far, but also hasn’t conceded. Instead, she’s saying she’s working to ensure that “every vote is counted.”

The 800-mile district runs from San Antonio to El Paso and is a perennial battleground. Hurd, who was first elected in 2014, has already declared victory.