Monday is the deadline for candidates to file for spots on the March 2020 primary ballot and minor party nominating conventions. Our Crib Sheets show candidates’ filing status. At least 458 candidates have filed for federal, statewide and legislative office so far.
As of the end of the day (Wednesday), there are 18 incumbents that we expect are seeking re-election for whom we have not seen a confirmation that they have filed:
- Statewide: none
- Senate: none
- House: Reps. Kyle Biedermann (R-Fredericksburg), Garnet Coleman (D-Houston), Joe Deshotel (D-Beaumont), Alex Dominguez (D-Brownsville), Eddie Lucio III (D-Brownsville), Terry Meza (D-Irving), Ana-Maria Ramos (D-Richardson), Richard Raymond (D-Laredo), Matt Schaefer (R-Tyler), J.D. Sheffield (R-Gatesville), Hugh Shine (R-Temple) and Shawn Thierry (D-Houston).
- Congress: U.S. Reps. Colin Allred (D-Dallas), Jodey Arrington (R-Lubbock), Joaquin Castro (D-San Antonio), Lloyd Doggett (D-Austin), Filemon Vela (D-Brownsville) and Ron Wright (R-Arlington).
Some of these incumbents serve districts entirely located within one county, raising the prospects that the county party has not reported their filings online or to the Secretary of State. We have seen far less information about filed candidates at the local level this year than in previous years. Only a handful of local parties are posting candidate lists, and the Republican Party of Texas is the only state party posting lists of filings (as far as we can tell).
HD89: Plano tax attorney and former Murphy council member Ray Ash filed as a Democrat for a rematch against Rep. Candy Noble (R-Lucas), who defeated Ash, 60%-40%, in the 2018 general election.
HD145: Houston nurse Martha Fierro filed as a Republican to challenge Rep. Christina Morales (D-Houston). Fierro finished third in the January special election for the seat (25%), missing the runoff by 212 votes, and narrowly missed the runoff for the 2018 special election for SD6 (23%) by 185 votes. She was the lone Republican in both races.
CD7: Houston oil and gas businessman Laique Rehman filed as a Republican to challenge U.S. Rep. Lizzie Fletcher (D-Houston). He is at least the fourth Republican to file for the race and the eighth to take a formal step toward entering the race.
CD14: West Columbia resident Eddie Fisher filed as a Democrat to challenge U.S. Rep. Randy Weber (R-Pearland).
CD18: An individual named Truly Heiskell filed as a Republican to challenge U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Houston).
CD22 open: Sugar Land real estate broker Diana Miller, who had been exploring a potential run for the seat being vacated by U.S. Rep. Pete Olson (R-Sugar Land), filed for the seat as a Republican.
Houston: Early voting continues for the mayoral and council runoffs. Through today (Wedneday), a total of 44K people have voted early in person or by mail, which is about 4% of registered voters. Early voting concludes December 10.
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