HD116: Former Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer (D-San Antonio) may be gearing up, and securing the financial resources, to run for his former seat against Rep. Diana Arévalo (D-San Antonio). Arévalo defeated Martinez Fischer’s endorsed candidate Martin Golando and one other candidate in the 2016 Democratic primary. Martinez Fischer lost his challenge of Sen. Jose Menendez (D-San Antonio) in a rematch of a 2015 special runoff election. Martinez Fischer reported having less than $2K on hand as of June 30.
Lt. Gov.
Dan Patrick
LTGOV: Gov. Greg Abbott, 19 of the 20 Republican senators, U.S. Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz and Texans for Fiscal Responsibility/Empower Texans endorsed Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R).
CCA8 open: Hispanic Republicans of Texas endorsed Judge Michelle Slaughter.
SD10: Annie’s List endorsed challenger Beverly Powell, who faces a contested Democratic primary in her bid to challenge Sen. Konni Burtion (R-Colleyville).
SD31: Primary challenger Victor Leal endorsed Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick for re-election and criticized incumbent Sen. Kel Seliger (R-Amarillo) for being the only Republican senator to withhold his endorsement. Patrick and Leal use the same consultant: Houston-based Allen Blakemore.
HD6: Former Rep. Ted Kamel (R-Tyler) has scheduled an October 30 announcement for his primary challenge of Rep. Matt Schaefer (R-Tyler). We previously reported that he had re-established his campaign committee.
HD18: Liberty attorney and Texas Right to Life political director Emily Kebodeaux Cook announced she was challenging Rep. Ernest Bailes (R-Shepherd) in the Republican primary. We previously reported that she established a campaign committee for the race.
HD55: Temple pastor Brandon Hall has created a Facebook page for his primary campaign against Rep. Hugh Shine (R-Temple) and confirmed that he is running in an interview with the Temple Daily Telegram that he is running. We previously reported that he established a campaign committee but, at that time, we were unable to identify him conclusively. Shine plans to announce his re-election bid soon.
New PAC: A group of conservative donors has created the New Leadership PAC to “support a new crop of leaders in the House.” The PAC’s treasurer is Don Dyer, an Austin businessman who has contributed nearly $500K to conservative candidates, groups and PACs since 2010, including Accountability First PAC ($100K), Attorney General Ken Paxton ($90K), Constituents Focus PAC ($50K) and the Republican Party of Texas ($40K).
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