CD6 special: The Brian Harrison (R) campaign released a new ad, “Biden’s Border Crisis,” highlighting border security.
The Jana Lynne Sanchez (D) campaign released a new ad, “Stand Up,” highlighting her pledge to stand up for working families.
The Texas AFL-CIO endorsed Lydia Bean (D). The Dallas Morning News endorsed Michael Wood (R). Former U.S. Defense Secretary Chris Miller endorsed Mike Egan (R).
Meanwhile, Sery Kim (R) filed a $10M defamation lawsuit (PDF) against the Texas Tribune and reporter Patrick Svitek for describing an anti-Chinese immigrant statement she made at a candidate forum as racist.
LTGOV: Kingwood accountant Mike Collier has established an exploratory committee for a potential rematch against Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R), who defeated Collier, 51%-46%, in the 2018 general election. Collier raised $1.3M during the 2017-18 election cycle, less than one tenth the amount raised by Patrick ($16.8M) and just above the $1.2M he raised during the 2013-14 cycle, when he lost a race for comptroller to Glenn Hegar (R), 58%-38%. Patrick enters the 2021-22 cycle with $19.4M on hand. Collier reported having less than $1K.
Garland: The Dallas Morning News endorsed Mayor Scott LeMay for re-election.
McKinney: The Dallas Morning News endorsed Mayor George Fuller for re-election.
Voting Rights: The League of Women Voters of Texas, Texas LULAC and Texas NAACP announced the Democracy Is Good for Business partnership to get more Texans businesses to support voting rights and oppose several legislative efforts to impose new requirements on election officials, voters and volunteers. Last week, Texas-based American Airlines and Dell came out against Senate Bill 7 by Sen. Bryan Hughes (R-Mineola) and House Bill 6 by Rep. Briscoe Cain (R-Deer Park), and Dallas-based AT&T and Southwest Airlines issued statements expressing support for “every person’s ability to vote.”
Senate Bill 7 passed the chamber on a party-line vote last week. House Bill 6 is pending in the House Elections Committee, which Cain chairs, after a lengthy public hearing last week. The committee could advance the bill at its hearing on Thursday, during which the committee will consider 16 bills, all authored by Republicans, for the first time.
“There is absolutely no need for any new bill to address voter integrity,” said Gary Bledsoe, president of Texas NAACP. “It creates so many new vague and overbroad criminal laws that it sends a signal that we don’t want you to vote.”
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