SD19 special: San Antonio attorney and longtime Democratic activist Charlie Urbina Jones has filed for the race, becoming the sixth official candidate. San Antonio financial analyst Tony Valdivia established a campaign committee and updated his web site to run for the seat vacated by former Sen. Carlos Uresti (D-San Antonio). Valdivia unsuccessfully sought city council P8 in 2017, finishing fourth (11%), and received 428 votes statewide as a write-in candidate for president in 2016.
Rep. Tomas Uresti (D-San Antonio), who lost his re-election bid in the Democratic primary to Leo Pacheco, tweeted that he has been “asked to run” for his brother’s former seat, and he is “contemplating” it. Candidates for the race must file by tomorrow (Monday).
Rep. Roland
Gutierrez
Pete
Gallego
Meanwhile, the San Antonio Express-News’s Gilbert Garcia reported that Rep. Roland Gutierrez (D-San Antonio) has had several tax liens filed against him or his businesses in recent years. In a Facebook post, Gutierrez blamed former Rep. and U.S. Rep. Pete Gallego (D-Alpine) for planting the article “in an attempt to embarrass my wife and I.” Gutierrez said deciding to “make payroll and keep working” led to “times when we have fallen behind on the overly burdensome taxes and fees that small business owners face.” In a tweet using an #ITrustPete hashtag, former Rep. and U.S. Rep. Pete Gallego (D-Alpine) said, “We all have our failings, but elected officials are and should be held to a higher standard.”
GOV: The Dallas Morning News’s Gromer Jeffers Jr. reported that Democratic nominee Lupe Valdez has made final payments on her overdue 2017 property taxes.
HD105: Annie’s List endorsed challenger Terry Meza (D) over Rep. Rodney Anderson (R-Grand Prairie).
HD113 open: Annie’s List endorsed Rhetta Bowers (D) for the seat being vacated by Rep. Cindy Burkett (R-Sunnyvale).
SEN: A new CBS News/YouGov poll shows U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R) leading U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-El Paso), 50%-40%, among “likely voters” with 7% unsure.
Cruz is strongest among Anglo voters (60%-27%), voters aged 65 and older (60%-33%) and men (53%-32%). Cruz leads O’Rourke among “independents,” 42%-34%. O’Rourke runs strongest among African-Americans (65%-6%), Hispanics/Latinos (40%-26%) and “moderates” (36%-25%). O’Rourke’s narrowly leads among women, 39%-36%, and adults under age 30 are evenly split between the candidates, 30%-30%, with 25% unsure.
Younger adults are decidedly less likely to vote in the November election than older adults. Just 41% of respondents under 30 said they would “definitely” vote in November, compared to 58% of adults aged 30-44 years, 73% of adults aged 45-64 years and 84% of adults aged 65 years and older. More than a third of adults under 30 said they would “maybe,” “probably not” or “definitely not” vote, compared to just 6% of voters 65 and older.
The online poll was conducted by YouGov using a sample of 1,030 registered voters selected from the firm’s online panels. The stated margin of error is ±3.6%.
Meanwhile, a new Univ. of Texas/Texas Tribune poll shows Cruz leading O’Rourke, 41%-36%. We’ll have more on this poll tomorrow.
CD27 special: Gov. Greg Abbott (R) endorsed Victoria marketing business owner Michael Cloud, the Republican Party’s nominee for the general election, for the seat vacated by former U.S. Rep. Blake Farenthold (R-Corpus Christi).
Cameron Co.: Voter turnout was south of 2% in the Texas Southmost College Dist. Runoff, which was won by compensatory education coordinator J.J. De Leon Jr.
©2018 Texas Election Source LLC
