The biggest primary runoff this cycle is between two Donald Trump betas for the right to face off against James Talarico for U.S. Senate. Recent polls indicate the Presbyterian Democratic state rep is favored over both candidates by a couple points.
Possibly widening the gap, Trump recently endorsed the one candidate whom experts claim will keep independently minded conservative voters home on Election Day. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton received Trump’s blessing not long after Paxton granted a sweetheart deal to a Waco man charged with repeatedly sexually abusing a young boy, because Republicans gonna Republican.
Paxton’s opponent, 74-year-old U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, who’s done everything but use his tongue to shine DT’s wingtips, must sure be sore.
Other primary runoffs are for Tarrant County commissioners court, assorted state offices, and Congress. The winning runoff candidates will appear on the Nov. 3 ballot.
In Precinct 2, the two Dems vying for the right to sit in a commissioner’s chair are nonprofit leaders, Amanda Arizola and former Fort Worth City Councilmember Jared Williams. The winner will take on Republican Tony Tinderholt in the November election.
In Congressional District 24, Republican Beth Van Duyne will face off against either Democratic entrepreneur TJ Ware or cybersecurity expert Kevin Burge. The first thing on Ware’s platform is to stop ICE (yes), while Burge is for sustainable development (yes also, considering the influx of water-gobbling data centers).
To go up against Republican Dan “What’s in Your Pants?” Patrick for lieutenant governor, the two Dems are Texas State Rep. Vikki Goodwin and union leader Marcos Isaias Velez.
The two Dems vying for attorney general are both really strong. Though State Sen. Nathan Johnson received over a million votes and nearly doubled the tally of former Galveston mayor Joe Jaworski, the runoff comes down to these two. The winner will tackle either Republican Mayes Middleton or Chip Roy.
Lastly, retired teacher Beth Llewellyn McLaughlin and photographer Diane Symons are competing on the Democratic side to go up against Republican John W. McQueeney for Texas House District 9.
These runoffs will determine which candidates appear on the Nov. 3 ballot.
For information on your nearest voting location, visit votetexas.gov/voting/where.html.
Everything is speculative. With the way the federal government is being run now, we may not even have elections in November, and no one in charge will do anything about it, especially the Dems. Street fighters, prepare accordingly.
This column reflects the opinions of the editorial board and not the Fort Worth Weekly. To submit a column, please email Editor Anthony Mariani at Anthony@FWWeekly.com. He will gently edit it for clarity and concision.
