An Early Look At The Texas Democratic Primaries
Deep Dives
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Railroad Commission of Texas
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The article explicitly discusses this agency as 'one of the most evil agencies in Texas' that regulates oil but is 'rife with corruption.' Understanding its history, actual regulatory powers, and documented controversies would give readers essential context for evaluating the Railroad Commissioner race.
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2003 Texas redistricting
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The article mentions gerrymandered maps being 'thrown out' affecting Jasmine Crockett's district. This landmark mid-decade redistricting orchestrated by Tom DeLay fundamentally shaped Texas politics for two decades and provides crucial historical context for understanding current district battles.
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Two-round system
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The article repeatedly references runoffs as a key factor in Texas primaries, including predictions about whether races will trigger runoffs. Understanding how runoff systems work, their effects on voter turnout, and why Texas uses them would help readers understand the strategic calculus candidates face.
I’ve been like a dog on a bone this week on the Secretary of State’s filings. These are the candidates who have qualified for the ticket and will be on the ballot in March, and by golly, we’re going to have a real primary season here in Texas. It’s exciting.
While there are still 17 days left to file, and there are still many Democrats who have yet to file, we’re already getting a good look at some of these races. And I want to talk about some of the competitive races with multiple Democrats running that we’re going to revisit several times before March.
Here are my lists, if you’re trying to keep up:
Let’s get into it.
The Statewide races.
US Senate: As we’re all aware, James Talarico and Colin Allred are the two big Democratic names battling for this seat. There were a few others who didn’t have the name recognition, but it’s not certain they will file by December 8th. There are still two big question marks hanging out in this race, Jasmine Crockett and Beto O’Rourke.
Now that the gerrymandered maps have been thrown out, Crockett is still in her coveted TX30. That was a deciding factor in her possibly running for the State Senate. Then, we’ve talked about the risks she would take running for this seat in Texas and how it might galvanize Republicans to show up and vote against her. I don’t know what her internal polling is saying, but if I had to put money on it, she’ll probably run for re-election in TX30 in the long run.
Beto is a wild-card, because he’s so well-loved and respected in Texas, but he doesn’t want to be known as the guy who lost four times. If I had to bet, he probably gets a lot of pressure to jump into this race or that race, but the only statewide race that he’d probably consider would seem really winnable. And this year, that’s the Senate. But Talarico is also well-loved and respected, and if Talarico is the younger generation’s Beto, then it becomes like Mario and Luigi squaring off against each other. My bet is he stays out.
We’ll see how it pans out between Talarico and Allred, but my money is on Talarico.
Governor: As
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