Rockwall County voters cast ballots Tuesday, Nov. 3, in the Texas House District 33 race between Republican incumbent Katrina Pierson and Democratic challenger Orlando Lopez.

The Associated Press had not called the District 33 race as of election night, according to AP's midterm election coverage. No vote totals for the state house race appeared in AP's reporting.

Across the country, AP reported that Democrats won control of both the U.S. House and U.S. Senate. In the House, AP reported Democrats flipped more than two dozen districts, including some that voted for President Donald Trump by double digits in 2024. In the Senate, AP called Democratic pickups in Kansas, Iowa, Texas, Ohio, Maine, North Carolina and South Carolina. Democrats also held battleground Senate seats in Georgia and Michigan, according to AP.

In the biggest Texas result of the night, AP called the U.S. Senate race for Democrat James Talarico over Republican Ken Paxton at 11:03 p.m. EST. AP reported it was the first time a Democrat had won a statewide office in Texas since 1994. AP also called the Texas governor's race for Democrat Gina Hinojosa, who defeated Republican Gov. Greg Abbott.

The district covers Rockwall County and part of southern Collin County, according to Rockwall Herald-Banner reporting. Polls were open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The candidates

Pierson took office in January 2025 after winning the District 33 seat. She serves on the House Select Committee on Congressional Redistricting and the Homeland Security, Public Safety & Veterans' Affairs Committee, according to her official committee list.

In the Rockwall Herald's candidate questionnaire, Pierson described herself as CEO of a communications firm. She said she earned a biology degree from the University of Texas at Dallas and spent more than 15 years advising organizations on communications and public policy.

On school funding, Pierson said she coauthored House Bill 2 in 2025, which she described as making major investments in public education, teacher compensation, special education and school safety. Her coauthorship is confirmed in the bill's legislative history. She said the school-finance formula should be simplified and funding should keep pace with student growth.

On infrastructure, Pierson said transportation dollars should follow population growth, with attention to Interstate 30, State Highway 205 and State Highway 78.

Lopez, who listed no previous elected or appointed offices in his candidate questionnaire, said he moved to Rockwall County near the start of 2022. He and his wife are originally from the Rio Grande Valley.

Lopez said he is running because he believes the district has lacked representation for working-class residents. He said the state should increase its share of public school funding to reduce the property-tax burden on local homeowners.

If elected, Lopez said his first bill would provide greater county oversight of Municipal Utility Districts, or MUDs. He criticized the infrastructure costs homeowners pay through MUD property taxes.

MUDs are governmental entities, often proposed by developers, that can finance utility infrastructure through taxes and other charges. They are created under state law, rather than operating as private developer organizations.

How to watch results

The Rockwall County Elections Department will post unofficial results at rockwallvotes.com. Christopher J. Lynch serves as elections administrator. The county also offers a ballot-board livestream for residents who want to watch ballot processing.

Statewide, more than 7.4 million Texans had voted early as of Oct. 31, according to preliminary secretary of state data reported by WFAA. That figure surpassed the roughly 5.49 million early votes cast in the 2022 midterms.

The sample ballot for Rockwall County's Nov. 3 general election is available online.