SD14 special: Attorney Chito Vela III announced he would not seek the seat being vacated by Sen. Kirk Watson (D-Auston) and would instead run for Austin council if council member Greg Casar vacates his seat to run for SD14. Casar would automatically resign from the council if he became a candidate for Watson’s seat. He has established a campaign committee for the race but has otherwise not announced any plans to run. Vela narrowly lost the 2018 Democratic runoff for HD46 to Sheryl Cole, 51%-49%.
Upcoming Elections: Gov. Greg Abbott (R) said “everything is on the table” for potential changes in how the May 26 runoff elections will be conducted in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Abbott said his office is trying to determine whether he has legal authority to order changes for the May 2 uniform elections, or whether only local governments can make any changes. He said he expected to make decisions “shortly.”
Citing the pandemic, Abbott delayed the SD14 special election to July 14. It would have otherwise coincided with the May 2 uniform election.
Nationally, five states have postponed primary elections, including Ohio, where Gov. Mike DeWine (R) issued the order the night before voting was set to begin. Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana and Maryland have postponed their primaries to late May or June.
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