SD24 open: Castroville homebuilder Raul Reyes Jr. announced he would run for the Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Dawn Buckingham (R-Lakeway). Reyes unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for CD23 in 2020, losing the runoff to eventual U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-San Antonio) by 45 votes. Former Sen. Pete Flores (R-Pleasanton) has previously declared his candidacy.

HD44: Rep. John Kuempel (R-Seguin) announced he would seek re-election.

HD57 open: Denton attorney and former Denton Co. Republican chair Richard Hayes announced he would run in reconfigured HD57.

HD61 open: McKinney council member Frederick Frazier told the Texas Tribune’s Patrick Svitek that he is considering running for the seat, which the latest House proposal would shift to Collin Co. Frazier won one of the at-large council seats in 2019. (Note: candidates residing Parker Co., which is in current HD61, would likely be running in HD60 under the latest House plan.)

CD38 open: The Wesley Hunt (R) campaign released toplines of an internal poll showing him leading a field of potential, but so far not announced, candidates with 38% of the vote. Former U.S. Rep. John Culberson (R-Houston), former congressional candidate Kathaleen Wall and Rep. Jim Murphy (R-Houston) were among the potential candidates included in the poll. A quarter of likely primary voters are undecided. As for the announced candidates, the poll memo says, “Hunt also leads all other opponents in head-to-head match-ups by double digits.” It is unclear whether these were Democrats or other Republlicans. The Moore Information Group survey of 350 respondents was conducted “by telephone using IVR” on October 5. No margin of error was provided.

Democratic Party: Former Agriculture Comm. nominee and congressional candidate Kim Olson re-established her campaign committee for a potential run for state party chair. Gilberto Hinojosa, the current chair, said in a statement that he intended to seek re-election. The state party chair is chosen by voting delegates to the 2022 state convention.

©2021 Texas Election Source LLC