HD78: Rep. Joe Moody (D-El Paso) announced he would seek re-election to a sixth term. Moody was considering running for District Attorney for the 34th Judicial District, which includes El Paso, Culberson and Hudspeth Cos. “My current role in the House gives me unprecedented opportunities to create positive change for El Paso and for Texas itself, including on criminal justice,” Moody said in a statement. “It’s a responsibility I just can’t walk away from.”
SEN: Houston attorney and at-large council member Amanda Edwards established a campaign committee and announced she would seek the Democratic nomination to challenge U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (D). Edwards was first elected in 2015. She joins a field that currently includes former U.S. Rep. Chris Bell (D-Houston) and M.J. Hegar, the 2018 Democratic nominee for CD31. Sen. Royce West (D-Dallas) is expected to announce his entry into the race on Monday. Three other Democratic candidates are also in the race: 2018 LTGOV candidate Michael Cooper, 2018 SEN candidate Sema Hernandez and 2018 GOV candidate Adrian Ocegueda.
CD21: U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and nine members of the Texas delegation are among the hosts of a Washington meeting with former Sen. Wendy Davis (D-Fort Worth), who is exploring challenging U.S. Rep. Chip Roy (R-Austin). Davis did not represent any portion of CD21 while in office. In 2014, she received 39% of the vote in CD21 in her unsuccessful gubernatorial race against then-Atty. Gen. Greg Abbott (R). In 2018, former U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-El Paso) lost the district to U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R) by just 539 votes, and Roy prevailed over Democratic nominee Joseph Kopser by 2.6% of the vote.
Filing Period: Candidates can begin filing for offices on the November 5 general election ballot on Saturday, although most jurisdictions will not be open to accept applications until Monday. Candidates have until August 19 to file for a spot on the ballot. Write-in candidates can file as late as August 23. Filed candidates who withdraw after August 26 will still have their names on the ballot.
In Houston, the mayor and all council districts are on the ballot. Voters in Midland, Bryan, College Station, Mesquite, Pflugerville, Cibolo, Schertz and Weslaco will elect mayors and some or all council members. See our Municipal Elections page for more details.
Schertz: Mayor Michael Carpenter announced he would not seek a fourth term In November.
Weslaco: The city council set an August 27 date for the runoff election between Adrian Farias (44%) and Lupe Garcia (27%) to fill a vacant council seat.
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