Mewsday – The Texas Primary Runoffs Thread

[TexasTowelie]

Prepurring to vote in the GOP primary runoff.



AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The results of Texas' primary runoff elections on Tuesday could reveal underlying trends ahead of the November general election in the nation's largest conservative state. Here are five things to watch in the Republican and Democratic runoffs:

TEA PARTY TRIUMPH?

Ever since grass-roots firebrand Ted Cruz upset Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst in their 2012 Republican U.S. Senate primary, most top Texas conservatives have scrambled hard to the right. Even though insurgent candidates have struggled this year elsewhere around the country, the Texas GOP's enthusiastic embrace of tea party ideals will continue if two runoff races go as expected. Houston state Sen. Dan Patrick, who founded the tea party caucus in the Texas Legislature, is poised to knock Dewhurst from a post he has held since 2003. And state Sen. Ken Paxton, after billing himself as the second-coming of Cruz, is favored in the GOP attorney general runoff against veteran state Rep. Dan Branch.

LAST DAYS OF DEWHURST?

It has been a tough couple of years for a man who was once a powerful force in Texas politics. As recently as 2012, the millionaire energy mogul from Houston had what the mainstream Texas GOP considered a solidly conservative record as head of the state Senate and was the establishment's lock to succeed retiring U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison. Then Cruz sprung his upset. Dewhurst eventually finished a distant second in a four-way race to keep his job in March. He appeared to struggle to make up ground before the runoff — despite pumping $5 million of his own fortune into his campaign. Dewhurst had promised to retire after one more term, but he may be headed home far sooner than that.

DEMOCRATIC DISASTER?

Will a candidate who wants to impeach the sitting Democratic president win the party's U.S. Senate nomination in Texas? Kesha Rogers, who is allied with frequent presidential candidate and conspiracy theorist Lyndon LaRouche, has been so vocal about calling for Barack Obama's impeachment that the Texas Democratic Party has urged its supporters not to vote for her. David Alameel, a Dallas dental mogul who has been endorsed by Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Wendy Davis, fell just short of a majority of the votes cast in a crowded field during the March primary.

More at http://www.chron.com/news/texas/article/5-things-to-watch-during-Texas-runoff-elections-5505109.php .

[font color=green]Please enter comments about your election day expurrience and return tonight to check the furrly results. Have a great day at the polls![/font]

[Downwinder]

1. I mailed mine last week.

Told the clerk I was costing an extra $20 voting by mail because of the ID law.

Her comment, "More than that."

[PDittie]

2. Patrick, Paxton, Alameel, and Kinky.

Ralph Hall goes down in flames, the only incumbent in the nation (so far) to lose his primary.

Congress has an 11% approval rating and a 100% re-nomination record as of this morning.

[hobbit709]

3. voted this morning.

Alameel wasn't my real choice but he beats the hell out of the insane LaRouchie.

[Melissa G]

4. Amen

[hobbit709]

5. Hi Melissa. How you be?

[Melissa G]

11. Better now that it looks like I will

be able to vote for actual Democratic candidates in the General Election instead of La Rouchies and Kinkpublicans!

Very Grateful for Rain!!!!

[TexasTowelie]

6. Unofficial results for statewide elections at 7:30 p.m.

https://team1.sos.state.tx.us/enr/

Democrats: (0.64% reporting)
Senate: Alameel 73%, Rogers 27%
Ag Commish: Hogan 56%, Kinky 44%

Repukes:
US Rep #4: Hall 48.5%, Ratcliffe 51.5% (~3% reporting)

Lt. Gov.: Dewhurst 38%, Patrick 62% (~2% reporting)
AG: Branch 38%, Paxton 62%
Ag Commish: Merritt 44%, Miller 56%
Railroad Commish: Christian 40%, Sitton 60%

[WolverineDG]

7. I haven't kept up with the Tea Party stuff

do the results mean the Texas GOP has tripled down on crazy?

[TexasTowelie]

8. It is looking like that is so.

The only one behind in the races I mentioned above was Christian in the RRC race.

[blogslut]

9. Another results link

http://www.texastribune.org/2014/elections/scoreboard/

Stunning about Dewhurst. Odds were against him but wow.

Also, looks like all those KESHA ROGERS IS NOT A DEMOCRAT graphics worked. yay!

[TexasTowelie]

10. The tight race is Bob Hall and Bob Deuell in District 2. Hall has 12,906 votes to Deuell's 12,787

with 29% of precincts reporting.

It looks like Ralph Hall is going to also lose. He is behind Ratcliffe 16,713 to 15,370.

[TexasTowelie]

12. Deuell has taken the lead over Bob Hall in Texas Senate District #2.

15,835 to 15,565 with 44% of precincts reporting.

[TxDemChem]

13. Hubby and I voted early last week

I hope enough real dems GOTV to get rid of Kesha

[TxDemChem]

14. Just saw the results

Alameel 72% Rogers 28%

[CoolOnion]

15. We need to discuss our party leadership

Not to be "cat-ty," but I wanted to let you know about a situation in Dallas County involving our Texas Democratic Party Vice-Chair. I don't know how many Texas Democrats are aware of this, but Tarsha Hardy, Vice-Chair of the Texas Democratic Party, ran for Dallas County District Clerk, and engaged in a really nasty campaign against Felicia Pitre, a woman who was endorsed by outgoing District Clerk, Gary Fitzsimmons.

When Tarsha Hardy first considered running, I got a phone call from her, saying that she wanted to run for District Clerk "to build the Democratic Party." I ventured that the best way to build the party was to elect good people to office, including a couple of people who already had positions in the clerk's office and might want to move up. And, anyway, isn't that in her job description already, as Vice-Chair of the Texas Democratic Party? Locally, Tarsha Hardy appears occasionally as a commenter on "Inside Texas Politics," and does an excellent job countering the GOP positions. She's smart, looks great on camera--doesn't that help build the Democratic Party?

But, apparently, she isn't satisfied doing that, she wanted to run for District Clerk, and Tarsha Hardy ran a really smarmy smear campaign against her opponent Felicia Pitre.

Voters weren't fooled, and elected Felicia Pitre with 62.70% of the vote.

I don't know what to do about it now, but just wanted to put it out there how very disappointed I am with Tarsha Hardy over this incident and I'm going to remember this when she comes up for reelection.

[TexasTowelie]

16. Deuell lost in his bid for reelection.

Close race, but lost by 300 votes. 17,930 for Deuell to 18,230 for Bob Hall.