Goodbye Primaries. Hello Runoffs.

Election night has come and gone. Yard signs are coming down, the final precincts have reported, and the primaries are almost a thing of the past. But in Texas politics, the campaign calendar never really stops. With several races headed to runoffs, the next chapter of this election cycle is already underway; however, before we close the books completely on a chaotic primary cycle, we wanted to send a newsletter highlighting Tuesday’s results.

Candidates Endorsed by the “C” Club

Congressionals: Jessica Hart Steinmann (CD-08), Trever Nehls (CD-22), and Congressman Brian Babin (CD-36) all advanced to the general election. Alexander Hale (CD-07), Alex Mealer (CD-09), and Shelly deZevallos (CD-38) will be competing for the Republican nomination in the May runoff.

State: Governor Abbott, Lt. Governor Patrick, and Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham all advanced easily to the general election. In the Agriculture Commissioner’s race, challenger Nate Sheets, who the “C” Club endorsed, defeated incumbent Sid Miller. Unfortunately, Acting Comptroller Kelly Hancock did not qualify for the runoff as Don Huffines earned a majority of the vote. However, we would be remiss if we did not say we are proud of the work Hancock has done in his interim role and appreciate his dedication to fighting for Texas taxpayers. In other races, Jim Wright advanced to a runoff for Railroad Commissioner, while Lesli Fitzpatrick, Jennifer Balido, and Barbara Denson lost on Tuesday night in their respective races.

Texas Legislature: With the exception of one race, all of the “C” Club’s endorsed state legislative candidates won their primaries outright. Stan Stanart, who we endorsed, just narrowly missed the mark to avoid a runoff, garnering 49% of the vote. He enters the runoff contest as the clear frontrunner.

Judicial: Outside of the judicial races where there was only one primary candidate, the “C” Club endorsed Todd Frankfort will go to a runoff after beating the second-place candidate by double digits in his run for the 1st Court of Appeals District, Place 3.

Local: Marc Cowart won the nomination for County Treasurer. Harris County GOP Chair Cindy Siegel barely missed an outright win, securing more than 49.63% of the vote. Lynda Sanchez was just narrowly defeated in her run for County Clerk. Raquel Hernandez-Boujourne, running for County Commissioner Precinct 2, and Bob Wolfe, vying for Justice of the Peace Precinct 5, Place 2, fell short in their campaigns.

Races Where the “C” Club Did Not Endorse

U.S. Senate: By all available metrics, Senator John Cornyn outperformed expectations, leading Attorney General Ken Paxton 41.89% to 40.68% as the race heads to a runoff.

Congressional District 2: U.S. Representative Dan Crenshaw was upset by State Representative Steve Toth, becoming the first Texas Republican member of Congress to lose their primary since 2014.

Attorney General: State Senator Mayes Middleton had one of the strongest nights on the map, emerging from the primary with the most votes after defying polling that consistently had him in second.

Stay tuned for more election coverage and be on the lookout for another update from us. The “C” Club will be publishing its runoff sample ballot with endorsed candidates prior to early voting.

Onward and upward,

The “C” Club of Houston

Early In-Person Voting: 5/18 to 5/22
Election Day: 5/26