The 2014 Texas primary election results are in. The following is a brief recap. If you would like to see exact percentages, follow this link to the Texas Secretary of State’s website: http://www.sos.state.tx.us. There is also the possibility of recounts in certain races where the margin of victory is very slim. The primary runoff election will be held May 27, 2014.
U.S. Senate
U.S. Senator John Cornyn faced seven opponents in the Republican primary but won handily. He will face Democrat David Alameel in the general election.
Congressional races
Fourteen Congressional incumbents faced a contested primary. Although none were defeated, one will face a runoff. In CD 4, Incumbent Congressman Ralph Hall will face a runoff in the Republican primary with John Ratcliffe. In the closely watched Republican primary for CD 23, former Congressman Quico Canseco will compete in a runoff against Will Hurd. The winner will challenge Incumbent Congressman Pete Gallego in the general election. In CD 32, Incumbent Congressman Pete Sessions fought back a strong challenge from Katrina Pierson in the Republican primary. Sessions will face Democrat Frank Perez in the general election. In the Democratic primary for CD 33, Incumbent Congressman Marc Veasey handily defeated his challenger Thomas Sanchez. In CD 36, a seat left open by Congressman Steve Stockman’s choice to run for US Senate, Brian Babin and Ben Streusand will compete in the Republican primary runoff. The winner will face Democrat Michael Cole in the general election.
Statewide Races
The Republican primary ballot contained many contested races for statewide seats. The matchups for the general election in November are listed below. Note that there will be several runoffs.
Governor: Republican Greg Abbott and Democrat Wendy Davis won their respective primaries as expected. This race will dominate the airwaves until the general election.
Lt. Governor: As expected, the Republican primary resulted in a runoff. Incumbent David Dewhurst will face Dan Patrick in the May runoff election. The winner of the runoff will face Democrat Leticia Van de Putte in the general election.
Attorney General: Republicans Dan Branch and Ken Paxton will face off in the Republican primary runoff. The winner will face Democrat Sam Houston in the general election.
Comptroller: At this point, Republican Glenn Hegar is very close to winning the Republican primary outright. If he does not reach the magic 50% threshold after all votes are reported, he will face a runoff with Harvey Hilderbran. The winner of the runoff will face Democrat Mike Collier in the general election.
Land Commissioner: Republican George P. Bush will face Democrat John Cook in the general election.
Agriculture Commissioner: Republicans Sid Miller and Tommy Merritt will compete in the Republican primary runoff. The winner will face the victor of the Democratic primary runoff – either Jim Hogan or Kinky Friedman – in the general election.
Railroad Commissioner: Republicans Wayne Christian and Ryan Sitton will compete in the Republican primary runoff. The winner will face Democrat Steve Brown in the general election.
Supreme Court – Chief Justice: Incumbent Nathan Hecht defeated challenger Robert Talton in the Republican primary. Hecht will face Democrat William Moody in the general election.
Supreme Court – Place 6: Incumbent Jeff Brown defeated Joe Pool in the Republican primary. Brown will face Democrat Lawrence Meyers in the general election.
Supreme Court – Place 7: Incumbent Jeffrey Boyd ran unopposed in the Republican primary. Boyd will face Democrat Gina Benavides in the general election.
Supreme Court – Place 8: Incumbent Phil Johnson defeated Sharon McCally in the Republican primary. Johnson faces no major party opposition in the general election.
Court of Criminal Appeals – Place 3: Republican Bert Richardson will face Democrat John Granberg in the general election.
Court of Criminal Appeals – Place 4: Republican Kevin Patrick Yeary won the Republican primary. Yeary faces no major party opposition in the general election.
Court of Criminal Appeals – Place 9: Republican David Newell won the Republican primary. Newell faces no major party opposition in the general election.
Texas Senate
Six incumbent Texas Senators faced a contested primary. Sen. John Whitmire (D-Houston); Sen. Joan Huffman (R-Houston); and Sen. Kel Seliger (R-Amarillo) easily held off primary challengers. Sen. John Carona (R-Dallas) was narrowly defeated by challenger Don Huffines. Sen. Donna Campbell (R-New Braunfels) defeated two primary challengers to avoid a runoff. Sen. Bob Deuell (R-Greenville) will face a runoff in the Republican primary with Bob Hall.
There were three open seats on the ballot due to the departure of Senators Dan Patrick, Ken Paxton and Wendy Davis. In Senate District 7, Republican Paul Bettencourt won the Republican primary and will face Democrat Jim Davis in the general election. Republican Van Taylor faced no primary opposition in Senate District 8. Since he has no major party opponent in the general election, he looks like the next senator in that district. In Senate District 10, there will be a Republican primary runoff between former state representative Mark Shelton and Konni Burton. The winner will face Democrat Libby Willis in the general election.
Former Sen. Tommy Williams (R-The Woodlands) departure left Senate District 4 vacant but that special election will not be held until May since Williams’ term extended until 2017.
Texas House
Thirty-four Texas House incumbents had contested primary races. Meanwhile, there were 13 open seats, many involving contested primary races. Eight incumbents were defeated in the primary elections – Republicans George Lavender, Lance Gooden, Ralph Sheffield, Diane Patrick, Linda Harper Brown, and Bennett Ratliff; and Democrats Naomi Gonzalez and Lon Burnam. Speaker Joe Straus won his Republican primary race in HD 121 against challenger Matt Bebee. There will be run-offs in 11 other House districts:
Republican primary runoffs:
HD 10: John Wray v. T.J. Fabby
HD 16: Ted Seago v. Will Metcaf
HD 53: Andrew Murr v. Rob Henneke
HD 58: Phillip Eby v. Dewayne Burns
HD 66: Matt Shaheen v. Glenn Callison
HD 102: Incumbent Stephanie Carter v. Linda Koop
HD 108: Morgan Meyer v. Chart Wescott
HD 129: Dennis Paul v. Sheryl Berg
HD 132: Mike Schofield v. Ann Hodge
Democratic primary runoffs:
HD 76: Cesar Blanco v. Norma Chavez
HD 105: Susan Motley v. Terry Meza
State Board of Education
Two incumbent members of the State Board of Education faced primary opposition and there was one open seat on the ballot. Incumbent David Bradley defeated challenger Rita Ashley in District 7. Bradley will face Democrat Kathy King in the general election. Incumbent Pat Hardy will face a runoff with Eric Mahroum in the Republican primary for District 11. The winner of the runoff will face Democrat Nancy Bean in the general election. In District 13, currently represented by Democrat Mavis Knight, Erika Beltran and Andrea Hilburn will compete in the Democratic primary runoff. The winner of the runoff will take the seat since no Republican filed.