LTGOV: The National Rifle Assoc. PAC endorsed Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R).
TLR Endorsements: Texas for Lawsuit Reform PAC endorsed six of the seven non-judicial statewide incumbents seeking re-election, excluding Agriculture Comm. Sid Miller (R).
SD5: The Austin American-Statesman’s Sean Collins Walsh and Tony Plohetski reported that the Univ. of Texas is investigating sexually explicit text messages allegedly sent by Sen. Charles Schwertner (R-Georgetown) to a graduate student. A spokesperson for Schwertner said he “categorically denies” the accusation and is “eager to cooperate” with the university’s investigation. Schwertner faces Round Rock contract manager Meg Walsh (D) and Georgetown resident Amy Lyons (L).
SD25: The campaign of Democratic challenger Steve Kling released a digital ad, “A Servant’s Heart,” a mostly biographical piece highlighting his military career and discussing education and jobs.
HD45 open: Current Rep. Jason Isaac (R-Dripping Springs) and former Rep. Patrick Rose (D-Dripping Springs) endorsed Republican nominee Ken Strange for the seat Isaac is vacating. Isaac defeated Rose in the 2010 general election, 54%-46%. Isaac did not seek re-election and instead unsuccessfully sought open CD21.
HD108: The Dallas Morning News endorsed Rep. Morgan Meyer (R-University Park).
CD2 open: Republican nominee Dan Crenshaw and Democrat Todd Litton will debate tomorrow (Wednesday) at the Univ. of Houston downtown at 6:30 p.m. It will be streamed online by KTRK-TV in Houston.
CD4: The Dallas Morning News endorsed U.S. Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-Rockwall).
CD7: The National Republican Congressional Committee released a new ad, “Texas Values,” attacking Democratic challenger Lizzie Pannill Fletcher.
CD32: Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings endorsed Democratic challenger Colin Allred (D) over longtime U.S. Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Dallas).
Meanwhile, The Congressional Leadership Fund released an ad, “Bet,” attacking Allred by invoking U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and, oddly, the Iranian nuclear deal canceled by President Trump.
Spanish Translations: The American Civil Liberties Union is urging 36 Texas counties to improve their Spanish-language election information in order to comply with the federal Voting Rights Act. Bexar Co. was one of the counties included in the group’s report. The county used Google Translate to translate its SD19 runoff election information into Spanish, but the resulting page translated “runoff election” into “election water leak” or “election nose drainage.” Elections Administrator Jacque Callanen told the San Antonio Express-News’s Dylan McGuinness that no complaints about the translation had been received by her office and would work with the county’s information technology unit to fix the problem.
Note: An earlier version of this report erroneously identified the recipient of alleged explicit text messages as an undergraduate student. She is a graduate student. We regret the error.
©2018 Texas Election Source LLC
