Early voting results offered some hints on Tuesday evening as to who Texas might send to Washington, D.C., in January 2019. There were eight open-seat congressional races across the state, most of which will head to a May 22 runoff.
These results are subject to change over the course of the evening.
Open seats that are likely to stay Republican
Texas’ 2nd Congressional District
State Rep. Kevin Roberts took an early lead in the GOP early voting with 38 percent of the vote in a race that seems likely to go to a runoff. GOP fundraiser and donor Kathaleen Wall was in second with 28 percent; it was a surprise she did not place first early on.
She spent big on this race, contributing to her campaign nearly $6 million, and packed her endorsement roster with the likes of Gov. Greg Abbott and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz.
Should Wall make the runoff, look for this race to get rough — some her of rivals indicated they would coalesce behind anyone but her.
This seat should easily stay in the Republican party but some in the party are nervously watching Democrat Todd Litton, who led the race for his own party’s nomination on Tuesday night. This is a race to replace U.S. Rep. Ted Poe, a Republican who represents large swaths of Houston and its outlying suburbs.
Texas’ 3rd Congressional District
State Sen. Van Taylor of Plano won the GOP nomination in the race to replace retiring U.S. House Rep. Sam Johnson of Richardson.
Taylor essentially cleared the field long ago and is expected to hold this heavily Republican, Collin County-based seat in the fall.
Texas’ 5th Congressional District
State Rep. Lance Gooden, R-Terrell, led the GOP nomination race early on in the evening with 26 percent of the vote, trailed by GOP fundraiser Bunni Pounds with 22 percent.
This is a sprawling East Texas seat that stretches from Dallas deep into the Piney Woods and is currently represented by retiring U.S. Rep. Jeb Hensarling of Dallas.
Texas’ 6th Congressional District
Tarrant County Tax Assessor-Collector Ron Wright took a dominating lead early in the evening, and Navy veteran Jake Ellzey was in second place with 23 percent in this Dallas-Fort Worth area seat that encompasses both urban and rural regions.
Wright had 48 percent of the vote — putting him close to the threshold to avoid a runoff. This is a race to replace retiring U.S. Rep. Joe Barton, R-Ennis.
Texas’ 21st Congressional District
Given the 18-candidate field, it was anyone’s guess who would make it to a runoff.
During early voting, Chip Roy, the former chief of staff to U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, took a major lead given the size of the field with 27 percent of the vote, while former CIA agent William Negley rounded out second place with 19 percent of the vote.
On the Democratic side, tech entrepreneur Joseph Kopser had 31 percent of the vote, trailed by minister Mary Street Wilson with 28 percent.
U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith, who is retiring, currently represents this seat, which stretches from Austin, down Interstate 35, out into the Hill Country and into San Antonio.
Texas’ 27th Congressional District
Former Victoria County GOP Chairman Michael Cloud took an early lead with 38 percent of the vote, with former Texas Water Board Chairman Bech Bruun trailing in second place with 32 percent of the vote to replace retiring U.S. Rep. Blake Farenthold, R-Corpus Christi.
Open seats that are likely to stay Democratic
Texas’ 16th Congressional District
Former El Paso County Judge Veronica Escobar took a lead in early voting with 61 percent of the vote, with former El Paso Independent School Board of Trustees President Dori Fenenbock in second place with 22 percent of the vote. Escobar could be on track to clear a runoff.
This is a race to replace U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke, who is running for the U.S. Senate.
Texas’ 29th Congressional District
State Sen. Sylvia Garcia led early voting for the Democratic nomination for this north and eastern Houston district with 63 percent of the vote.
She was followed in second place by health care executive Tahir Javed with 22 percent.
She first ran for the seat in 1992 and lost to the outgoing incumbent, retiring U.S. Rep. Gene Green, D-Houston. He not only endorsed her, but campaigned hard on her behalf.
No Latina has ever before represented Texas in Congress.
Source: Texas Tribune Blue News
