Sen. Pat Fallon (R-Prosper) established a federal campaign committee for open CD4, which was vacated when former U.S. Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-Heath) became the Director of National Intelligence. Fallon appeared at a Hunt Co. Republican Party convention in May, leaving an impression that he would seek to become the replacement nominee.
Sen. Pat
Fallon
Fallon considered running for the seat in 2019 when Ratcliffe was nominated by President Trump the first time for his current post. He also considered challenging U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (R) in this year’s primary but opted to remain in the Texas Senate.
Other declared candidates seeking to replace Ratcliffe as the Republican nominee include:
- Aaron Harris, chief of staff to U.S. Rep. Lance Gooden (R-Terrell) and former executive of Direct Action Texas
- Rockwall council member Trace Johannesen
- Houston field service tech T.C. Manning, who lost the 2020 Republican primary for CD18
- Dallas author Floyd McLendon Jr., who lost the 2020 Republican primary for CD32
- Atlanta Mayor Travis Ransom; and
- Jason Ross, Ratcliffe’s former district director.
County and precinct chairs are scheduled to meet August 8 to choose a replacement nominee.
Early voting continues for the July 14 primary runoff and special elections.
Statewide, 209K people have voted in the Democratic runoff through two days (62% by mail), and 138K have voted in the Republican runoff (51% by mail) through yesterday (Tuesday), the second day of the in-person early voting period.
In the 15 counties with the most registered voters, 157K Democrats and 66K Republicans have cast ballots in person or by mail through two days. Democratic turnout remains higher than in 2016 and 2018 combined in these 15 counties, and all 15 counties have seen a record Democratic runoff turnout through two days since at least 2012. In 2018, a total of 181K Democratic votes were cast in these 15 counties in the entire 5-day early voting period, and 92K were cast in 2016.
Republican turnout continues to lag behind 2018 but remains a bit ahead of the 2016 pace. There have been more Republican votes cast in Fort Bend Co. during the first two days than at any other similar timeframe since 2012, and more people have voted in the Republican runoff in that county during the first two days than in the entire 5-day voting period in 2018 or 2016.
SEN: The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reiterated its endorsement of Sen. Royce West (D-Dallas) for the Democratic runoff over M.J. Hegar.
CD13 open: Rep. Ken King (R-Canadian) endorsed Josh Winegarner in the Republican runoff ove Ronny Jackson.
CD17 open: Republican runoff candidate Renee Swann said she and her husband have tested positive for COVID-19 with no symptoms. They will self-quarantine for the next 10 days.
CD23 open: One day after U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R) endorsed his opponent, the campaign of Republican runoff candidate Tony Gonzales II said he raised more than $400K during the second quarter.
CD24 open: The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reiterated its endorsement of Kim Olson for the Democratic runoff over Candace Valenzuela.
©2020 Texas Election Source LLC
