Sen. Ted Cruz holds on to win re-election and beat Rep. Beto O'Rourke in Texas Senate race

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Republican incumbent Sen. Ted Cruz has won his bid for re-election, ABC News projects.

As polls closed across most of Texas, supporters of both candidates in the closely watched U.S. Senate race gathered at opposite ends of the state.

Thousands of Rep. Beto O'Rourke's supporters have been watching the election results at a minor league baseball stadium in the Texas Democratic senate candidate's native El Paso.

At U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz's party in Houston, supporters were cautiously optimistic throughout Tuesday night before cheers erupted at news of the senator's victory.

Cruz, a Houston native, has held his seat since 2013.

Ted Cruz re-election campaign 'confident' but 'not taking anything for granted'

Sen. Cruz's campaign says it might be a long night, but he's confident he'll be re-elected.

In the months leading up to the election, polls have showed Cruz defeating O'Rourke by as many as nine points.

On Election Day, some outlets, such as FiveThirtyEight predicted that Cruz, the incumbent, had a 7 in 9 chance of keeping the seat.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Rep. Beto O'Rourke awaits election results after hard-fought campaign for US Senate

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