Kory Watkins

Kory
Watkins

GOV: Lone Oak gun rights activist Kory Watkins has filed paperwork establishing a campaign committee to challenge Gov. Greg Abbott, and he announced he would seek the Libertarian Party’s nomination. Watkins was the head of Open Carry Tarrant County when he made  headlines during the 2015 session when he equated opposing open carry legislation with treason “that is punishable by death.”

HD67: Plano resident Sarah Depew has filed paperwork establishing a campaign committee for a potential challenge of Rep. Jeff Leach (R-Plano), likely as a Democrat.

HD97: Fort Worth museum docent and former educator Beth Llewellyn McLaughlin has filed paperwork establishing a campaign committee for a potential challenge of Rep. Craig Goldman (R-Fort Worth), likely as a Democrat.

TBD: Houston attorney Michele Barber Chimene has filed paperwork establishing a campaign committee but did not indicate which office she may seek. Her voter registration address indicates she lives in SD17, HD134 and ED6, represented by Sen. Joan Huffman (R-Houston), Rep. Sarah Davis (R-Houston) and board member Donna Bahorich (R-Houston). Huffman and Davis are up for re-election in 2018. In 2016, Chimene gave several contributions to local Democratic groups, indicating a potential general election challenge.

CD14: Pearland educator and Democratic activist Adrienne Bell filed paperwork establishing a campaign committee for a potential challenge to U.S. Rep. Randy Weber (R-Pearland) as a Democrat. Bell ran unsuccessfully for Pearland council P6 in 2016. However, her campaign committee has a Knoxville, Tenn., address.

CD22: Houston dentist Letitia Plummer filed paperwork establishing a campaign committee for a potential challenge to U.S. Rep. Pete Olson (R-Sugar Land) as a Democrat. However, her campaign committee has the same Knoxville, Tenn., address as CD14 candidate Adrienne Bell.

Dallas: After concluding a review of mail-in ballots, Dallas election officials announced that D6 incumbent Monica Alonzo (41%) and challenger Omar Narvaez (29%) will indeed face each other in a June 10 runoff. Final results have been delayed because ballots were sequestered due to a criminal investigation into possible voter fraud.

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