Early voting for the March 6 primary election begins Tuesday.
GOV: The campaign of Gov. Greg Abbott (R) released its first re-election ad focused on the Texas economy and business climate.
LAND: The Dallas Morning News endorsed former Comm. Jerry Patterson (R) over current Comm. George P. Bush (R) in the Republican primary and Miguel Suazo in the Democratic primary.
SD2: The Dallas Morning News endorsed Rep. Cindy Burkett (R-Sunnyvale) over Sen. Bob Hall (R-Edgewood).
SD8 open: The Phillip Huffines campaign released an ad attacking opponent Angela Paxton and her husband, Atty. Gen. Ken Paxton, for the change in their wealth since Ken Paxton was first elected to office.
Angela Paxton’s campaign released a video attacking Huffines for contributions he made to Democrats. We were unable to find an official link to it, but it is viewable in this tweet from the Texas Tribune’s Patrick Svitek.
SD17: Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC endorsed Sen. Joan Huffman (R-Houston).
SD19: Attorneys representing Sen. Carlos Uresti (D-San Antonio) rested their case today, the 14th day of his federal criminal fraud trial. Uresti did not testify. In May, Uresti was charged with 11 felony counts including wire fraud, securities fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering in connection with a bankrupt frac-sand company and its executives. He has maintained his innocence throughout. Uresti is not up for re-election until 2020.
SD30: The Victor Leal campaign released a new TV ad attacking Sen. Kel Seliger (R-Amarillo) for what it calls his “liberal history.”
HD2: The Texas Assoc. of Business TXBIZ PAC endorsed Rep. Dan Flynn (R-Van).
HD52 open: The Texas Assoc. of Realtors TREPAC endorsed Cynthia Flores for the seat being vacated by Rep. Larry Gonzales (R-Round Rock).
HD65: Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC endorsed Rep. Ron Simmons (R-Lewisville).
HD89 open: The Texas Assoc. of Realtors TREPAC endorsed John Payton for the seat being vacated by Rep. Jodie Laubenberg (R-Wylie).
HD106 open: The Texas Assoc. of Business TXBIZ PAC endorsed Clint Bedsole for the seat being vacated by Rep. Pat Fallon (R-Frisco).
HD109 open: The Dallas Morning News endorsed former DeSoto Mayor Carl Sherman Sr. in the Democratic primary to succeed the retiring Rep. Helen Giddings (D-DeSoto).
HD124: The San Antonio Express-News endorsed Rep. Ina Minjarez (D-San Antonio).
HD150: The Texas Assoc. of Business TXBIZ PAC endorsed challenger James Wilson over Rep. Valoree Swanson (R-Spring).
CD2 open: The Houston Chronicle endorsed Rep. Kevin Roberts (R-Houston) in the Republican primary for the seat being vacated by U.S. Rep. Ted Poe (R-Humble).
CD21 open: The San Antonio Express-News endorsed Jenifer Sarver (R) and Joseph Kopser (D) in their respective primaries to succeed U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith (R-San Antonio). Both are from Austin.
CD29 open: The Tahir Javed campaign released a biographical ad highlighting his “American story.”
McLennan Co.: The lone Democratic candidate has suspended his campaign. Waco attorney Seth Sutton, who announced his campaign in December, said in a nearly 3K-word statement that family, his law practice and his clients were among the reasons he was pulling out of the race.
Filing Deadline: Friday is the last day for candidates to file for a place on the May 5 uniform election. Write-in candidates have an additional four days to file.
Killeen: At-large council member Juan Rivera drew his 10th filed challenger in Mellisa Brown, who is the campaign treasurer for HD54 candidate Larry Smith.
Odessa: A divided city council voted to place a resolution changing its composition on the November ballot. The resolution would add a sixth place to the five-member council and give the mayor a vote. A petition appeared to have sufficient signatures to force the election had the council not acted.
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