by Grant Trammell
According to the Secretary of State, more than four million people voted in a Primary Election for just the third time in state history. This was the first Primary Election in the history of Texas in which two million people voted in each party. Texans on the Republican side saw overwhelming support for both President Donald J. Trump and Senator John Cornyn which should be good news for the party as they look to remain united going into the General Election in November.
Democratic Presidential candidate Joe Biden won Texas due to his increased support after other moderate candidates dropped out and endorsed his campaign earlier this week as he looks to become his party’s nominee. On the Democratic side of the Senate race, first place finisher MJ Hegar will face State Senator Royce West in a runoff election. All HAR recommended candidates running for the U.S. House of Representatives were successful in their primary election.
Former Beto O’Rourke advisor Sima Ladjevardian will face Elisa Cardnell in a runoff election to determine who will go up against HAR Recommended Candidate and widely popular Republican incumbent Dan Crenshaw. In the race to take on freshman Democratic Incumbent Lizzie Fletcher, army veteran Wesley Hunt blew out the rest of the Republican field and was able to avoid a runoff by garnering 61% of the vote. Congressman Al Green defeated challenger Melissa Wilson by receiving 83.52% of the vote. Democrats Mike Siegel and Pritesh Gandhi will go head to head in a runoff election to determine who will face Republican Incumbent and HAR Recommended Candidate Michael McCaul. Democrat Adrienne Bell easily gained enough support to avoid a runoff and will face Incumbent Randy Weber.
Incumbent Sheila Jackson Lee, who was up against six challengers, won 80% of the vote and looks to be in a strong position heading into November. In Montgomery County, longtime incumbent and HAR Recommended Candidate Kevin Brady received more than 80% of the vote and is likely to be victorious in the General Election due to the overwhelming number of Republicans living within District 8. Former Fort Bend County Sheriff, Troy Nehls, received 40.5% of the vote in District 22 and will face second place finisher, Kathaleen Wall in a runoff election. On the Democratic side of District 22, Sri Preston Kulkarni has advanced to the General Election. HAR Recommended Candidate Sylvia Garcia, who was unopposed in yesterday’s Primary Election, will face Republican Jaimy Blanco along with two other third party candidates. HAR Recommended Candidate Brian Babin won his Primary Election against challenger RJ Boatman.
In the Texas Senate, all five HAR Recommended Candidates won their election with relative ease. Brandon Creighton, whose extremely large district spans from Conroe to Beaumont, will face Democrat Jay Stittleburg and Libertarian Cameron Brock in the General Election. Incumbent Larry Taylor will be up against Democrat Susan Criss, a former District Court Judge. Democratic Incumbent Borris Miles defeated his two challengers and is set to face Republican Milinda Morris. Senator Lois Kolkhorst and Democrat Michael Antalan, who were both unopposed in the Primary Election, are set to go head to head in November.
In the Texas House of Representatives, 31 out of 32 of HAR’s Recommended Candidates are headed on to the General Election with the lone exception being Anna Eastman of District 148, who is likely to win her runoff election after receiving nearly double to votes of the second-place finisher. In District 26, which HAR was not involved in, Matthew Morgan and Jacey Jetton will need a runoff to decide a winner on the Republican side and for the Democrats, Suleman Lalani and Sarah Demerchant will face each other in a Runoff Election. Republican Incumbent Briscoe Cain was able to fend off challenger Robert Hoskins and will head to the General Election where he will face Democrat Mary E. Williams. Rep. Dennis Paul defeated firefighter Ryan Lee by a wide margin and is expected to win his General Election matchup against Democrat Kayla Alix. In District 134, Republican Incumbent Sarah Davis will be up against Democrat Ann Johnson in a race that will be heavily targeted by the Democrats as a “flippable” seat. Jersey Village Mayor, Justin Ray, is set to try to take back the seat that Democratic Rep. Jon Rosenthal flipped in 2018. Longtime incumbent Harold V. Dutton Jr. will face outgoing District B Council Member Jerry Davis in a runoff election. Shawn Thierry defeated challenger Ashton P. Woods and will face Libertarian J.J. Campbell in the General Election.
In the County Commissioner Races, HAR Recommended Candidates went three for five with Brenda Stardig and Wendy Duncan falling short. Incumbent and HAR Recommended Candidate Rodney Ellis took down challenger Maria T. Jackson meaning he will be re-elected in November as no Republicans filed for that seat. Former Spring Valley Mayor, Tom Ramsey, will face the winner of the runoff between Democrats Michael Moore and Diana Martinez Alexander in the race for Harris County Commissioner Precinct 3. In Fort Bend County, HAR Recommended Candidate Vincent Morales will be up against the winner of the runoff between Jennifer Cantu and Lynette Reddix. Lastly, in Montgomery County, HAR Recommended Candidate Robert Walker was victorious and will face Democrat Mike Midler in November, a race that Walker is highly likely to win.
Overall, HAR had a 92% success rate in Tuesday’s Primary Election. There will be two HAR Recommended Candidates in a Runoff Election, Rep. Anna Eastman in District 148 and Rep. Harold V. Dutton Jr. in District 142. Early voting for the Primary Runoff Elections will begin May 18 and concludes on May 22. Primary Runoff Election Day is May 26.
