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A third of the Texas Legislature and hundreds of candidates for state offices are already the winners of their elections, and have been for nearly two-months. Texas Secretary of State John Scott stated in September that ten state Senate candidates and 58 Texas House candidates were "declared elected" because they were running unopposed. Declared winners also included judges, district attorneys, county commissioners, justices of the peace, and others. The move was made possible by a change in state law that had bipartisan support.