Texas is huge. We all know that. But the way it voted in 2020? That’s where things get kinda weird. If you just look at the surface, you see a red state. Donald Trump won. Case closed, right? Not even close. When you actually dig into the Texas 2020 election results by county, you find a story of two different states fighting for the same dirt.
Trump took the state with 52.1% of the vote. Joe Biden trailed with 46.5%. On paper, that 5.6% margin looks like a comfortable Republican cushion. But compare it to 2016, and you’ll see the gap narrowed by a few points. It was the closest a Democrat had come to winning the Lone Star State since the 1990s.
The Urban-Rural Meat Grinder
Most of the 254 counties in Texas are deep, deep red. We’re talking about places where you can drive for three hours and never see a blue lawn sign. In 2020, Trump absolutely dominated the rural landscape. In King County, for example, he grabbed over 90% of the vote. It’s basically a different universe compared to Austin.
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But the cities? They're basically blue islands in a red sea. The "Big Five" counties—Harris (Houston), Dallas, Tarrant (Fort Worth), Bexar (San Antonio), and Travis (Austin)—didn't just lean toward Biden. They surged.
Tarrant County is the one everyone was watching. It used to be the biggest Republican stronghold in the country. In 2016, Trump won it. In 2020? Biden flipped it. It wasn't by much—just a fraction of a percentage point—but it sent shockwaves through the state's political establishment.
That South Texas Red Shift
Okay, here’s the part that really messed with people's heads. While the suburbs around Dallas and Houston were shifting blue, the Rio Grande Valley—historically a Democratic fortress—suddenly lurched to the right.
Look at Zapata County. In 2016, Hillary Clinton won it by 33 points. In 2020, Trump actually won it. He flipped it red for the first time in forever.
- Starr County: A massive 55-point swing toward Trump.
- Webb County: Biden won, but his margin was cut nearly in half.
- Cameron County: A similar story of Republican gains in a blue area.
Why did this happen? Honestly, it depends on who you ask. Some experts, like those at the Texas Tribune, point to a "perfect storm" of the COVID-19 pandemic’s economic impact and a feeling that the national Democratic party had drifted too far from the local culture. Others say the GOP just did a better job of showing up and talking to people on the ground.
The Suburbs are the Real Battleground
If you want to know where the state is going, look at the "doughnut" counties. These are the suburban areas surrounding the big cities.
Hays and Williamson counties (near Austin) both flipped to Biden. These used to be reliably Republican. But as more people move to Texas from places like California and New York, the demographics are changing. Fast. Collin and Denton counties (near Dallas) are still red, but the margins are shrinking every single year.
In 2020, the turnout was insane. Over 11 million Texans voted. That’s 66% of registered voters, the highest turnout the state had seen in decades. People weren't just voting; they were motivated.
Why It Still Matters Today
The Texas 2020 election results by county aren't just history. They’re a roadmap. Republicans learned they can't take the border for granted, and Democrats learned that "demographics are destiny" isn't a guarantee of victory.
Texas is currently a "competitive" state, but it’s a weird kind of competitive. It's not a swing state like Pennsylvania yet. It's more like a giant, slow-moving ship that’s trying to turn around in a narrow canal.
Actionable Insights for Political Junkies
If you’re trying to make sense of the next election cycle based on 2020, keep these things in mind:
- Watch the Margins, Not Just the Wins: A Republican winning a suburban county by 5 points instead of 15 is a huge deal for the statewide total.
- Follow the Money and Outreach: See if the GOP continues its aggressive ground game in the Rio Grande Valley. If those 2020 gains hold, the "Blue Texas" dream becomes much harder to achieve.
- Monitor Registration Data: Texas adds hundreds of thousands of new voters every year. Check the Secretary of State’s website for updated registration counts by county to see where the growth is happening.
- Don't Ignore Local Races: Often, the "down-ballot" results for Sheriff or County Commissioner tell you more about the true lean of a county than the Presidential race does.
To see the raw data for yourself, you should check out the Texas Secretary of State's official election archives. It's a goldmine of information if you're willing to do some scrolling.