Van Taylor takes GOP nomination to replace retiring Rep. Sam Johnson; other open races

March 6, 2018

Early voting results offered some hints Tuesday evening as to who Texas might send to Washington, D.C., in January 2019. There were eight open-seat congressional races across the state, most of which will head to runoffs May 22. 

These results are subject to change over the course of the evening.  

Open seats that are likely to stay Republican

Texas’ 2nd Congressional District  

State Rep. Kevin Roberts took an early lead in the GOP early voting with 38 percent of the vote in a race that seems likely to go to a runoff. GOP fundraiser and donor Kathaleen Wall was in a fight for second place and the runoff with 27 percent of the vote; it was a surprise she did not place first early on.  

Retired Navy SEAL Dan Crenshaw emerged as a dark-horse contender with 25 percent of the vote. 

Wall spent big on this race, contributing nearly $6 million to her campaign, and packed her endorsement roster with the likes of Gov. Greg Abbott and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas.  

Should Wall make the runoff, look for this race to get rough — some her of rivals indicated they would coalesce behind anyone but her.  

This seat should easily stay Republican, but some in the party are nervously watching Democrat Todd Litton, who led the race for his own party’s nomination on Tuesday night. This is a race to replace U.S. Rep. Ted Poe, a Republican who represents large swaths of Houston and its outlying suburbs.   

Texas’ 3rd Congressional District  

State Sen. Van Taylor of Plano won the GOP nomination in the race to replace retiring U.S. Rep. Sam Johnson of Richardson.  

Taylor essentially cleared the field long ago and is expected to hold this heavily Republican, Collin County-based seat in the fall. 

Texas’ 5th Congressional District  

State Rep. Lance Gooden, R-Terrell, led the GOP nomination race early on in the evening with 26 percent of the vote, trailed by GOP fundraiser Bunni Pounds with 22 percent.  

This is a sprawling East Texas seat that stretches from Dallas deep into the Piney Woods and is currently represented by retiring U.S. Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Dallas.  

Texas’ 6th Congressional District 

Tarrant County Tax Assessor-Collector Ron Wright and Navy veteran Jake Ellzey will proceed to the GOP runoff in this Dallas-Fort Worth area seat that encompasses both urban and rural regions. 

Wright had 45 percent of the vote late Tuesday, while Ellzey trailed with 22 percent of the vote. 

This is a race to replace retiring U.S. Rep. Joe Barton, R-Ennis. 

Texas’ 21st Congressional District 

Given the 18-candidate field, it was anyone’s guess who would make it to a runoff.  

During early voting, Chip Roy, the former chief of staff to U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, took a major lead given the size of the field with 27 percent of the vote, while former CIA agent William Negley rounded out second place with 19 percent of the vote. 

On the Democratic side, tech entrepreneur Joseph Kopser had 31 percent of the vote, trailed by minister Mary Street Wilson with 28 percent.  

Republican U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith, who is retiring, currently represents this seat, which stretches from Austin, down Interstate 35, out into the Hill Country and into San Antonio.  

Texas’ 27th Congressional District 

Former Texas Water Board Chairman Bech Bruun led with 38 percent of the vote, with former Victoria County GOP Chairman Michael Cloud trailing him with 33 percent of the vote. This is the race to replace retiring U.S. Rep. Blake Farenthold, R-Corpus Christi.  

Open seats that are likely to stay Democratic

Texas’ 16th Congressional District  

Former El Paso County Judge Veronica Escobar took a lead in early voting with 61 percent of the vote, with former El Paso Independent School Board of Trustees President Dori Fenenbock in second place with 22 percent of the vote. Escobar appears to be on track to clear a runoff.  

This is a race to replace U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke, who is running for the U.S. Senate.   

Texas’ 29th Congressional District  

State Sen. Sylvia Garcia won the Democratic nomination outright. She and former El Paso County Judge Veronica Escobar are likely to become the first Latina members of Congress to represent Texas. 

Because this is a heavily Democratic seat that takes in north and eastern Houston, Garcia is a safe bet to win in the fall.  

Health care executive Tahir Javed came in second but Garcia was able to secure a majority of the vote and avoid a runoff.  

She first ran for the seat in 1992 and lost to the outgoing incumbent, retiring U.S. Rep. Gene Green, D-Houston. He not only endorsed her but also campaigned hard on her behalf. 

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Disclosure: Joseph Kopser has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune’s journalism. Find a complete list of them here. 

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This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at https://www.texastribune.org/2018/03/06/texas-primary-election-open-congressional-seats/.

The Texas Tribune is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans — and engages with them — about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.