SD19: Sen. Pete Flores (R-Pleasanton) was sworn in today (Friday) during a ceremony in the Senate Chamber. Flores defeated former Rep. and U.S. Rep. Pete Gallego (D-Alpine) in last month’s special runoff election, which was triggered by the resignation of former Sen. Carlos Uresti (D-San Antonio) following his June felony convictions. Republicans now hold a 21-10 supermajority, which will likely grow to 21-9, at least temporarily, following the resignation of Sen. Sylvia Garcia (D-Houston), who will succeed U.S. Rep. Gene Green (D-Houston) in Congress. It is unclear when a special election to fill her unexpired term will occur.
Meanwhile, Uresti pleaded guilty to a pending bribery charge that was unrelated to the charges for which he was previously convicted, reported the San Antonio Express-News’s Guillermo Contreras and Patrick Danner. A trial on that charge was scheduled to begin October 22. Prosecutors said they would recommend any sentence he receives for this charge run concurrently with the 12-year sentence he has already received. As part of the deal, Uresti agreed not to appeal his earlier conviction.
GOV: The campaign of Gov. Greg Abbott (R) released a new ad, “Cracking Down on Violent Gangs,” focused on law enforcement.
COMP: The Houston Chronicle endorsed Comptroller Glenn Hegar (R).
AGRIC: The Houston Chronicle endorsed Democratic challenger Kim Olson over Comm. Sid Miller (R).
SC4: The Dallas Morning News endorsed Justice John Devine (R).
SD15: The Houston Chronicle endorsed Sen. John Whitmire (D-Houston).
SD17: The Houston Chronicle endorsed Sen. Joan Huffman (R-Houston).
HD15: The Houston Chronicle endorsed Democratic nominee Lorena Perez McGill over former Rep. Steve Toth (R-The Woodlands).
HD28: The Houston Chronicle endorsed Rep. John Zerwas (R-Richmond).
HD114 open: Former Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert endorsed Republican nominee Lisa Luby Ryan.
HD133: The Houston Chronicle endorsed Democratic challenger Marty Schexnayder over Rep. Jim Murphy (R-Houston).
CD7: The campaign of Democratic challenger Lizzie Pannill Fletcher released a new ad, “My House,” criticizing U.S. Rep. John Culberson (R-Houston) on flooding issues.
CD22: The Houston Chronicle endorsed Democratic challenger Sri Preston Kulkarni over U.S. Rep. Pete Olson (R-Sugar Land).
CD23: The campaign of Democratic challenger Gina Ortiz Jones released a new ad, “Dear Mr. Hurd,” focused on health care and insurance coverage for pre-existing conditions.
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