The voters of Senate 6 have spoken.

After a grueling election that spurred extreme negative politics, they came out in greater numbers than anticipated to make their choice.

The good news is that more than 18,000 voters cast ballots.  In the first round, only about 15,000 people participated.  While it is not a record turnout, these are good numbers for a spring election.

And the race was not as close as expected.  Garcia won victory with a strong 53% of the vote.

Carol Alvarado remains in her position as a State Representative and will continue to speak for many constituents in Senate District 6.

The challenge now will be for the community as a whole to put the negative campaign behind them.  Garcia and Alvarado were so closely aligned politically on the needs of the area that attacking each other became the differentiator in the race.

Austin players also became very important during this campaign.  Steve Mostyn, a Democratic trial lawyer,  and many unions backed Garcia.  Alvarado had support from the business community and from the Texans for Lawsuit Reform.  As a sitting State Representative, the business community in Austin knew that they would be working with her either way.

So, score one for the labor and trial lawyers in this race.

Congrats to the people of Senate District 6.  At least now you will have a Senator to speak for you in the critical final 3 months of the Session.

And, congrats to Senator Garcia!