Texas Democrats narrowly chose former Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez over Andrew White in Tuesday's gubernatorial primary runoff election, and in the state's highest-profile contest, attorney Lizzie Pannill Fletcher trounced liberal activist Laura Moser in the Democratic runoff in the Houston-area 7th congressional district. Fletcher, a former Planned Parenthood board member backed by the Democratic Party, will take on Rep. John Culberson (R) for a House seat Democrats hope to flip in November.
Valdez, the first openly gay gubernatorial nominee in Texas and the first Latina nominee, faces Gov. Greg Abbott (R), who has high approval ratings and a $41 million war chest. Only 430,000 Democrats voted in the gubernatorial runoff, compared with the 1 million who voted in the March Democratic primary, The Texas Tribune sighs, making it both "the largest primary-to-runoff decline — and the smallest number of ballots cast — in the 14 Democratic gubernatorial primary runoffs held since 1920."
In other notable races, Democratic former Air Force intelligence officer Gina Ortiz Jones beat former high school teacher Rick Treviño and will take on Rep. Will Hurd (R) in the fall. And in the race to replace Rep. Lamar Smith (R), Republican Chip Roy, a former chief of staff for Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), will face Democrat Joseph Kopser, a tech entrepreneur.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Could Democrats lose the New Jersey governor’s race?Today’s Big Question Democrat Mikie Sherrill stumbles against Republican Jack Ciattarelli
-
‘Porsche’s luxury credentials are now hanging by a thread’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Choose your own wellness adventure in Greater Palm SpringsThe Week Recommends Hit the spa, try a sound bath or take a hike
-
Trump DOJ indicts New York AG Letitia JamesSpeed Read New York Attorney General Letitia James was indicted as Trump’s Justice Department pursues charges against his political opponents
-
Judge blocks Trump’s Guard deployment in ChicagoSpeed Read The president is temporarily blocked from federalizing the Illinois National Guard or deploying any Guard units in the state
-
Trump urges jail for Illinois, Chicago leadersSpeed Read The Texas National Guard begin operations in the Chicago area
-
Bondi stonewalls on Epstein, Comey in Senate face-offSpeed Read Attorney General Pam Bondi denied charges of using the Justice Department in service of Trump’s personal vendettas
-
Court allows Trump’s Texas troops to head to ChicagoSpeed Read Trump is ‘using our service members as pawns in his illegal effort to militarize our nation’s cities,’ said Gov. J.B. Pritzker
-
Judge bars Trump’s National Guard moves in OregonSpeed Read In an emergency hearing, a federal judge blocked President Donald Trump from sending National Guard troops into Portland
-
Museum head ousted after Trump sword gift denialSpeed Read Todd Arrington, who led the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, denied the Trump administration a sword from the collection as a gift for King Charles
-
Trump declares ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartelsspeed read This provides a legal justification for recent lethal military strikes on three alleged drug trafficking boats
