Redistricting: The U.S. Supreme Court has temporarily stayed the federal district court ruling invalidating two Texas congressional districts, likely placing a remedial hearing scheduled for September 5 on hold. Plaintiffs have until 3 p.m. that day to file a response, at which time the high court could decide to life the stay and allow the remedial hearing to proceed. The stay arose from an emergency request filed late last week by the state and covers the congressional decision only. The state is expected to request a similar emergency stay of last week’s decision regarding state House districts, which could postpone indefinitely a September 6 remedial hearing. In the meantime, the district court advised that the stay does not “prevent the parties from voluntarily exchanging their proposed remedial maps” or trying to reach agreement if the stay is eventually vacated.
SD31: Amarillo restaurateur Victor Leal announced he would challenge Sen. Kel Seliger (R-Amarillo) in the Republican primary. In July, we reported that Leal was considering the race. He previously sought the 2010 Republican nomination for what was then an open HD87 seat, losing to now-Rep. Four Price (R-Amarillo), 55%-45%. Also in the race is former Midland Mayor and 2014 primary challenger, Mike Canon. Seliger defeated Canon, 53%-47%, in that race.
CD22: Katy engineer Eric Zmrhal established a campaign committee for a potential primary challenge of U.S. Rep. Pete Olson (R-Sugar Land).
CD32: Dallas paramedic Chris Suprun, the Texas presidential elector who did not cast his vote for President Trump, appears to be seeking the Democratic nomination to challenge U.S. Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Dallas). A “draft Chris Suprun” effort has been online for several months, but it looks as though social media and a web site for the campaign have gone live. As far as we can tell, he has not filed paperwork establishing a campaign committee or made a formal announcement about the race. Since initially posting this report, we have located a filing establishing a federal campaign committee.
See our 2018 Challengers page for all 258 challengers and open-seat candidates who we confirm have taken a formal step toward running for state and federal office from Texas in 2018.
Edinburg: The Monitor‘s Nathan Lambrecht reported that a local attorney is challenging whether Mayor Richard Garcia can seek re-election based on language in the city charter limiting elected officials to three “successive terms.” Garcia served one term as mayor from 2003 to 2006, lost his re-election bid and has since been elected to two consecutive terms. Attorney Douglas A’hern argued that the term “successive” does not mean “consecutive” in a petition filed in state district court, and thus Garcia has already served three successive terms.
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