Early voting for the March 6 primary election begins Tuesday.

GOV: The San Antonio Express-News endorsed Gov. Greg Abbott (R) and Andrew White (D) in their respective primaries.

LTGOV: The San Antonio Express-News endorsed challenger Scott Milder over Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R) and Mike Collier (D) in their respective primaries.

HD8 open: U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R) endorsed Thomas McNutt for the seat being vacated by Rep. Byron Cook (R-Corsicana).

HD23: Gov. Greg Abbott will appear at an event with challenger Mayes Middleton on Wednesday afternoon in Galveston.

HD99: A mail piece from the Texas Ethics Disclosure Board purports to provide notice of Rep. Charlie Geren’s (R-Fort Worth) relationship with a registered lobbyist, his wife Mindy Ellmer, under Section 572.0531, Government Code. That statute provides that a legislator must file a notice prior to introducing, sponsoring or voting on a bill if the legislator’s spouse is registered to lobby on the subject matter of the bill. The vaguely official looking card lists Ellmer’s lobby clients and carries a warning for “interfering or obstructing delivery of this notice” under 18 U.S.C. Section 1702. That section makes it a federal crime to tamper with the delivery of any mail.

HD99 Mailer

It was one of six mail pieces district resident Emily Harris received about the race, according to a photo she posted on Twitter, and the picture above was separately posted by Harris on her Twitter feed. Of course, there is no such state agency. The actual source of the mail piece is Empower Texans. The group filed an assumed name certificate with the Secretary of State in January to conduct business as the Texas Ethics Disclosure Board for the next 10 years.

HD126: The Houston Chronicle endorsed Sam Harless for the seat being vacated by Rep. Kevin Roberts (R-Houston).

HD128: U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R) endorsed Rep. Briscoe Cain (R-Deer Park), who is unopposed for re-election, according to Cain’s Facebook page.

CD6 open: The Fort Worth Star-Telegram endorsed Jake Ellzey (R) and Ruby Faye Woolridge (D) in their respective primaries for the seat being vacated by U.S. Rep. Joe Barton (R-Ennis).

New Braunfels: Shane Hines won the special election for an unexpired council term with 51% of the vote, defeating Bob Wolf (38%) and Jose Reyes Lopez (11%). Turnout was just north of 5%.

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