Filing Deadline: Tomorrow (Wednesday) is the deadline for candidates to file for the HD28, HD100 and HD148 special elections.
SD24: Sen. Dawn Buckingham (R-Lakeway) announced she would seek re-election to a second term.
HD17: Rep. John Cyrier (R-Lockhart) announced he would seek re-election to a fourth term.
HD92 open: Bedford Mayor Jim Griffin resigned so that he run for the seat being vacated by Rep. Jonathan Stickland (R-Bedford) as a Republican. A November 5 special election will fill his unexpired term, and he will remain mayor until a successor is elected. He was first elected in 2012 following eight non-consecutive years as a council member. Griffin was unopposed for his 2018 re-election bid, though he faced an unsuccessful recall effort several months later.
HD148 special: Houston consultant Michele Leal (D) announced she would seek the seat being vacated by her former boss, Rep. Jessica Farrar (D-Houston). Leal has been endorsed by Rep. Christina Morales (D-Houston).
CD22 open: Sales copy writer and Army veteran Keli Chevalier announced she would seek the seat being vacated by U.S. Rep. Pete Olson (R-Sugar Land) as a Republican.
CD23 open: The Tony Gonzales campaign announced he has raised $100K during the first month after he switched his candidacy to the seat being vacated by U.S. Rep. Will Hurd (R-San Antonio).
El Paso: By a 4-3 vote, the city council ordered a November 5 special election to fill the council seat held by Cassandra Hernandez, who automatically resigned when a Facebook page for her potential mayoral campaign was publicly viewable briefly on August 19. Candidates must file by September 26. Hernandez is not permitted to run but may remain in office until a successor is elected. Hernandez maintains that she has not resigned because she did not authorize the Facebook page. She argued council members have set a “dangerous” precedent because a third party could conceivably create an online post that could trigger the Constitution’s resign-to-run provision.
Keller: Former council member Armin Mizani announced he would run for mayor in 2020. Mizani unsuccessfully challenged Rep. Giovanni Capriglione (R-Southlake) in the 2018 Republican primary (37%). It is unclear if Mayor Pat McGrail will seek re-election.
Voter Registration: Republican political consultant and data analyst Derek Ryan tweeted that, as of the end of July, 870K Texans registered to vote since the 2018 general election, nearly 200K more than the same period four years ago.
Partisan Gerrymandering: A three-judge North Carolina district court has unanimously struck down the state’s legislative map and ordered new districts be drawn for the 2020 election. The Assembly was given a deadline of September 18 to produce remedial maps. While an appeal is expected, the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling rejecting federal partisan gerrymandering claims has no real impact on this case because it is being litigated solely at the state level.
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