A few things we wanted to share with you today:
The filing deadline is tomorrow at 6 p.m. local time. There are typically some surprises, some last-minute decisions to run and some decisions not to run. We should know much of the slate of Democratic and Republican candidates tomorrow, but it can take up to a couple of weeks for every potential candidate to surface.
RRC: Former Rep. Lon Burnam (D-Fort Worth) filed in the open-seat race. He is the second Democrat officially in the race, joining Grady Yarbrough, who forced former Rep. Paul Sadler into a runoff for the party’s 2014 U.S. Senate nomination. Several more Republicans may enter the race. Rep. Jim Keffer (R-Eastland) teased on Twitter that he was on his way to Austin. Former Rep. Wayne Christian (R-Center) is said to be considering a run. Former Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson is also considering a run. Finally, Rep. Jonathan Stickland (R-Bedford) has been teasing his potential entry into the race. Stickland has a “big announcement” coming Monday morning, though it may not have anything to do with the RRC race. Other social media posts from Stickland strongly suggest he is indeed running for re-election.
SD26: As expected, Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer (D-San Antonio) announced he would challenge Sen. Jose Menendez (D-San Antonio) in a Democratic primary rematch of the February 17 special runoff election. Menendez defeated Martinez Fischer, 59%-41%, thanks in part to significant support from Republican voters. Those voters are expected to vote in their own party’s primary.
HD139: Rep. Sylvester Turner’s (D-Houston) election as Houston’s next mayor will prevent him from completing his current House term, forcing a special election at a to-be-determined date (potentially coinciding with the primary election).
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