Rep. Travis Clardy (R-Nacogdoches) filed paperwork with the Texas Ethics Commission establishing his Speaker campaign. He is the fifth member of the House to do so, joining Reps. Eric Johnson (D-Dallas), Phil King (R-Weatherford), Tan Parker (R-Flower Mound) and John Zerwas (R-Richmond). Speaker Joe Straus (R-San Antonio) did not seek re-election.
CD32: The Congressional Leadership Fund Super PAC has secured $2.7M in advertising time to attack Democratic challenger Colin Allred.
Filing Deadlines: Monday is the deadline for write-in candidates to file for a place on the general election ballot. It is also the deadline for municipal, school board and other local candidates to file for offices on the general election ballot.
Austin: Three more candidates emerged to challenge Mayor Steve Adler. Joining former council member Laura Morrison are frequent council meeting speaker Gus Peña, aquatics advisory committee member Alan Pease and musician Todd Phelps, who received 10% of the vote in the 2014 mayoral election.
Meanwhile, the city clerk has challenged the eligibility of D1 council candidate Lewis Conway Jr., who has served an eight-year prison sentence for a felony conviction. Conway’s eligibility to be a candidate rests on the interpretation of Section 141.001(a)(4), Election Code, which provides that a candidate cannot have been “finally convicted of a felony from which the person has not been pardoned or otherwise released from the resulting disabilities.” That last phrase is legally untested, and it’s meaning is unclear. Conway must now prove he is eligible in order to secure a spot on the ballot.
Corpus Christi: Former Mayor Dan McQueen, who resigned just 37 days into the term for which he was elected in 2016, announced he was running again in 2018. Mayor Joe McComb, who won the special election last year to succeed McQueen, is seeking re-election. They face Aislynn Campbell, Michaell Hall and Ray Madrigal, whose application is pending as he awaits approval of a legal name change to Ray Madrigal De Pancho Villa. In between mayoral campaigns, McQueen briefly challenged U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R) in the Republican primary before withdrawing and endorsing another candidate. He also published a book entitled 37 Day Mayor: Truth – FAKE NEWS – America’s Future (Volume 1).
Odessa: People wanted to run for city council after all. At least two people filed for each of the open D3, D4 and D5 seats. Incumbent D5 council member Filiberto Gonzales was reconsidering his decision to step aside and intended to file if no one else sought the seat. He did not file for re-election.
Wichita Falls: Mayor Stephen Santellana got a challenge from former sheriff’s office employee Lowry Crane. D3 council member Jeff Browning, who was appointed to the council last month, is unopposed for a full term.
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