Redistricting: The federal trial over the districts drawn in 2013 for the Texas House of Representatives and U.S. House of Representatives continued in San Antonio. Luis Vera, legal counsel for the League of United Latin American Citizens, testified that Latinos today “control” the same percentage of congressional districts today as in 1970 despite their significant contribution to the state’s population growth. Plaintiffs have several witnesses remaining, prompting some discussion as to whether closing arguments would be made this week, in writing or at a later date.
Rep. Morgan
Meyer
HD108: Rep. Morgan Meyer (R-Dallas) announced he would seek re-election.
CD3: Wylie mortgage consultant and Democratic precinct chair Medrick Yhap established a federal campaign committee for a potential race for the seat being vacated by U.S. Rep. Sam Johnson (R-Plano).
CD21: Canyon Lake former CIA agent and motivational speaker Eric Burkhart established a federal campaign committee for a potential primary challenge of U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith (R-San Antonio). He is the first Republican to take a formal step toward a primary challenge, as far as we can tell. Burkhart recently addressed the Hill Country Tea Party Patriots on the “alleged Russian attempt to impact the 2016 election.”
See our 2018 Challengers page for all 200 challengers and open seat candidates who we confirm have taken a formal step toward running for state and federal office from Texas in 2018.
Edinburg: The Monitor’s Naxiely Lopez-Puente reported that Fern McClaugherty, a longtime “vocal critic” of the city council and Hidalgo Co. Commissioners Court will seek the P1 seat being vacated by council member Richard Molina, who is challenging Mayor Richard Garcia in the November 2017 election. The official filing period begins July 12.
El Paso: Early voting has ended for the D8 special runoff election between Robert Cormell and Cissy Lizarraga. Slightly more than 4% of eligible voters cast ballots early, which is two percentage points behind the pace for the May uniform election. Election Day is Saturday.
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