Early voting for the March 6 primary election begins tomorrow.
Poll Numbers
A new UT/Texas Tribune poll suggests statewide incumbents have significant leads over their primary rivals, but voters remain fairly divided about their job performance:
- GOV (R): Gov. Greg Abbott 95, Barbara Krueger 5, Secede Kilgore 0
- GOV (D): Lupe Valdez 43, Andrew White 24, Grady Yarbrough 7, Tom Wakely 7, others 18
- LTGOV (R): Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick 88, Scott Milder 12
- LTGOV (D): Mike Collier 55, Michael Cooper 45
- LAND (R): Comm. George P. Bush 57, former Comm. Jerry Patterson 31, others 12
- LAND (D): Miguel Suazo 68, Tex Morgan 32
- AGRIC (R): Comm. Sid Miller 54, Trey Blocker 26, Jim Hogan 20
- SEN (R): U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz 91, Bruce Jacobson Jr. 3, Mary Miller 3, others 3
- SEN (D): U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke 73, Sema Hernandez 19, Edward Kimbrough 8
Respondents were evenly split on their assessments of the job performances of President Trump (46/46), Cruz (40/41) and Patrick (36/33). Abbott had a net favorable of +15 (46/31), and U.S. Sen. John Cornyn was viewed unfavorably on balance (29/38).
Respondents were asked to rate their likelihood to vote in the March primary from a scale of 0 (definitely not voting) to 10 (“absolutely certain to vote”). More than half of respondents gave themselves a 10, seemingly defying historical voter participation rates. However, the pollsters changed their sampling methodology for the horse race questions only. Instead of using self-reported measures of how likely a person is to vote, the pollsters relied on past primary voting history to determine whether or not a person should be considered likely to vote.
Endorsements
Corpus Christi Caller-Times: The paper released its primary endorsements, including challenger Scott Milder over Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R), former Land Comm. Jerry Patterson over Comm. George P. Bush (R), challenger Trey Blocker over Agriculture Comm. Sid Miller (R), challenger David Bridges over Presiding Judge Sharon Keller (R) and challenger Stefano de Stefano over U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R). The paper endorsed Gov. Greg Abbott (R) and Lupe Valdez (D) in their respective primaries. The paper endorsed Bech Bruun (R) and Eric Holguin (D) in their respective primaries for the seat being vacated by U.S. Rep. Blake Farenthold (R-Corpus Christi).
Houston Chronicle: The paper released dozens of endorsements on the eve of the first day of early voting. Notable endorsements include challenger Scott Milder over Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R), former Land Comm. Jerry Patterson over Comm. George P. Bush (R), challenger Wilvin Carter over Rep. Ron Reynolds (D-Missouri City) and challenger James Wilson over Rep. Valoree Swanson (R-Spring). The paper endorsed Marty Schexnayder (HD133), Allison Lami Sawyer (HD134) and Adam Milasincic (HD138) in Democratic primaries to face incumbent Republican legislators.
CCA: The Eagle (Bryan-College Station) endorsed challenger David Bridges over Presiding Judge Sharon Keller (R) and Dib Waldrip (R) for the seat being vacated by Judge Elsa Alcala (R).
SD5: The Eagle (Bryan-College Station) endorsed Sen. Charles Schwertner (R-Georgetown) and Meg Walsh (D) in their respective primaries.
SD31: The Amarillo Globe-News endorsed Sen. Kel Seliger (R-Amarillo).
HD4 open: U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R) endorsed former Rep. Stuart Spitzer (R-Kaufman) for the seat being vacated by Rep. Lance Gooden (R-Terrell).
HD14: The Eagle (Bryan-College Station) endorsed Rep. John Raney (R-College Station) and Josh Wilkinson (D) in their respective primaries. The paper reported that Alex Vidal, the other Democrat in the race, is likely to suspend his campaign.
HD60: U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R) endorsed Rep. Mike Lang (R-Granbury).
HD73: U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R) endorsed Rep. Kyle Biedermann (R-Fredericksburg).
HD87: The Amarillo Globe-News endorsed Rep. Four Price (R-Amarillo).
CD16 open: The El Paso Times endorsed former El Paso County Judge Veronica Escobar in the Democratic primary for the seat being vacated by U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-El Paso). The paper made no recommendation for the Republican primary.
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