WASHINGTON (AP) — Two prominent Texas Republicans are seeking to settle political scores within their own party in Tuesday’s runoff election, which will see voters decide nearly three dozen races still open from the state’s March 5 primary.
For very different reasons, Gov. Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton have thrown the weight of their statewide political organizations into efforts to unseat Republican lawmakers who have crossed them for political or policy reasons. Abbott is focusing on GOP members who helped derail his 2023 education plan, which would have allowed taxpayer money to be spent on private schools. Paxton has targeted more than 30 incumbents who voted for his impeachment last year on corruption charges. He was later acquitted in the state Senate.
The vendettas could push the legislature even further to the right in a state where Republicans already hold a majority in government. In recent years, Texas has implemented one of the country’s strictest anti-abortion laws, expanded gun rights and passed a sweeping immigration bill that is currently pending in federal court.
Nine Republican representatives in the state House of Representatives lost their votes in the March 5 primary, while eight others had to go into runoffs. All were targeted by Abbott or Paxton or both.
The most high-profile of these Republican runoffs in the state House of Representatives is in the 21st District, where Speaker Dade Phelan faces a challenge from oil and gas consultant and party activist David Covey. Phelan led the effort to remove Paxton from office, for which he was rebuked by the Texas Republican Party for “lack of fidelity to Republican principles and priorities.” Phelan’s defeat on Tuesday would be Paxton’s biggest prize of the night. Covey is backed by Paxton and his biggest ally, former President Donald Trump. He came in first in the March primary with 46% of the vote, while Phelan received 43%.
Another key runoff in the state House of Representatives is the Republican contest in the 33rd District, where former Trump campaign adviser and spokeswoman Katrina Pierson hopes to unseat state Rep. Justin Holland. Pierson is backed by Abbott and Paxton. She defeated Holland 40% to 39% in the March primary.
Abbott and Paxton are supporting opposing candidates in five runoff elections for the state House of Representatives and in the Republican race to replace retiring U.S. Representative Kay Granger in the 12th Congressional District.
There are also a number of runoff elections for U.S. House nominations, the most prominent of which is the Republican race in the 23rd Congressional District, where U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales is seeking a third term in the sprawling West Texas district. Gonzales has broken from his party on key votes on gun safety, immigration and same-sex marriage, earning him a rebuke from the state party in 2023. He has Abbott’s endorsement over his challenger Brandon Herrera, a gun rights activist known for his gun-focused YouTube channel The AK Guy.
In the 28th Congressional District, retired Marine officer Jay Furman and rancher Lazaro Garza are vying for the Republican nomination to face Democratic U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar in November. Cuellar and his wife were indicted this month on conspiracy and bribery charges. The couple have denied any wrongdoing. Rosie Cuellar, the congressman’s sister, will run in the Democratic runoff for the state’s 80th House District.
Here’s a look at what to expect on Tuesday:
DAY OF PRIMARY CRASH
The Texas primary runoff election is Tuesday. All polls close at 7 p.m. local time, but Texas is in the Central Time and Mountain Time Zone. That means most polls in the state close at 8 p.m. ET, while polls in El Paso, Hudspeth and parts of Culberson County in West Texas close at 9 p.m. ET.
WHAT IS ON THE BALLOT
The Associated Press will announce the results and determine the winners of the 32 races in which no candidate won a majority in the March 5 primary election, including eight runoff elections for the U.S. House of Representatives, three for the Senate, 19 for the House of Representatives and two for the state Board of Education.
WHO CAN VOTE
Voters who participated in a party’s primary on March 5 may only vote in runoffs for that party. In other words, voters who participated in the Republican primary on March 5 may not vote in Democratic runoffs, and voters in the Democratic primary may not vote in Republican runoffs. Registered voters who did not participate in a party’s primary on March 5 may vote in runoffs. All voters must be registered in the precinct where the runoff is being held.
DECISION NOTES
Runoff elections are typically lower-turnout events than the original elections that sparked them. This could tardy the ballot counting process for a contested election, especially in smaller state districts. In these cases, determining the outcome could hinge on a handful of ballots that have not yet been counted.
Two races are taking place in districts that span both the Central Time Zone and the Mountain Time Zone: the Republican runoff in the 23rd Congressional District and the Democratic runoff in the 77th House of Representatives District. The winners of these races will not be announced until the last polls in the districts close at 9:00 p.m. ET. Races that take place entirely in the Central Time Zone may be called at 8:00 p.m. ET.
The AP does not make predictions and will only declare a winner if it determines that there is no scenario in which the trailing candidates could close the gap. If a race has not yet been called, the AP will continue to report on any major developments, such as candidate concessions or declarations of victory, while making clear that it has not yet declared a winner and explaining why.
Texas requires an automatic recount only in the event of a tie. Defeating candidates can request and pay for a recount if the margin is less than 10% of the leading candidate’s vote. The AP can declare a winner in a race eligible for a recount if it determines the margin is too gigantic for a recount or legal challenge to change the outcome.
WHAT ABOUT VOTER TURNOUT AND PRE-SELECTION?
In March, 17.9 million voters were registered in Texas. Voters in Texas do not register based on party affiliation.
In March, turnout in the Republican primary was nearly 13 percent of registered voters and in the Democratic primary just over 5 percent, according to the Texas Secretary of State. About 53 percent of Republican voters and 61 percent of Democratic voters cast their ballots before Primary Day.
As of Wednesday, 148,477 votes had been cast in the Republican runoff elections and 89,981 in the Democratic election. Early in-person voting began on Monday and ends on Friday.
HOW LONG DOES THE COUNTING OF VOTES USUALLY TAKE?
In the March 5 presidential primary, AP first reported results at 8 p.m. ET, shortly after polls closed in most parts of the state. Election night vote counting ended at 5:46 a.m. ET, after just over 99% of all votes had been counted.
ARE WE ALREADY THERE?
As of Tuesday, there are 161 days left until the parliamentary elections in November.
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Follow AP’s coverage of the 2024 election at https://apnews.com/hub/election-2024.
