LTGOV: In a Facebook post, former Rep. Allen Vaught (D-Dallas) said he was “not closing the door on anything” even though he did “not think we need a contested primary” as Democrats look to win the office for the first time in 24 years. Vaught said he had not intended to announce plans to challenge Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick until after the legislative session. State Democratic Party finance chair and former comptroller candidate Mike Collier’s entry into the race earlier this week appears to have prompted Vaught’s post. We reported in January that Vaught had filed paperwork for a potential candidacy.
AG: Special prosecutors trying criminal securities fraud charges against Attorney General Ken Paxton have asked a court to delay his trial until they are paid. Paxton’s trial is scheduled to begin on May 1.
SD8: The Dallas Morning News’s Gromer Jeffers Jr. reported that Phillip Huffines, the Dallas Co. Republican chair and brother of Sen. Don Huffines (R-Dallas), is “poised to move into the district, probably into a home in Richardson.” The district mostly lies within Collin Co. but includes the Dallas Co. portion of Richardson, which would permit Huffines to live in both Dallas Co. and SD8. Jeffers reported that Phillip Huffines’s potential candidacy would not affect the plans of Reps. Jeff Leach (R-Plano) and Matt Shaheen (R-Plano) to seek the seat. Sen. Van Taylor (R-Plano) is widely expected to seek the seat being vacated by U.S. Rep. Sam Johnson (R-Plano), who announced he would not seek re-election.
CD7: Houston attorney James Cargas filed a new candidacy statement with the Federal Election Commission for a fourth consecutive challenge to U.S. Rep. John Culberson (R-Houston). Cargas, a Democrat, received 36% of the vote in 2012 and 2014 and 44% in 2016.
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