It’s going to be a late night and I have a couple of long days ahead of me, so I’m going to do some quick summaries based on what I now know, and will come back later to fill the gaps.
– The Former Guy was at about 78% statewide and 76% in Harris County. Nikki Haley was at 17 and 18 percent, respectively. When the party’s over…
– Rep. Tony Gonzales in CD23 was the only threatened Congressional incumbent; he was leading with about 46% and could maybe avoid a runoff, with Brandon Herrera next in line. State Rep. Craig Goldman was leading the pack in the open CD12, while Brandon Gill actually had 57% (just early votes so far) in the cattle call that is CD26. That’s kind of impressive.
– All three Court of Criminal Appeals Justices that were targeted by Ken Paxton were losing, with two of them getting crushed and Michelle Slaughter down by a more respectable margin of about seven points. I never thought it possible to feel a twinge of sympathy for Sharon Keller, but here we are. Worst judge John Devine was leading in his Supreme Court race, but just by two points. It would not suck if he lost, even if just in the primary. Railroad Commissioner Christi “I’ll Show You How A Real Nepo Baby Does It” Craddick was leading in her multi-candidate race, but just at about 53%.
– The legislative races are a mess. Some of the incumbents targeted by Greg Abbott and/or Ken Paxton are losing, some are winning, some others are headed to runoffs. Rep. Steve Allison in HD121, the Sarah Davis of Bexar County, appears to be going down. That’s now very much a top-tier pickup opportunity. I’ll have to sort through the rest to see what else might be available.
– Rep. Lacey Hull appears to be a winner over Jared Woodfill in HD138. You know how I feel about that one. Rep. Jacey Jetton was losing in his race in HD26. You know how I feel about that one, too.
– Speaker Dade Phelan had a tiny lead in HD21 after trailing by a slightly larger but still tiny amount in early voting. It’s a three-person race and this one looks sure to be a runoff. Someone with a more extensive knowledge of Texas legislative history will have to tell us who the last sitting House Speaker to lose re-election was. Not Gib Lewis, at least.
– What’s the over/under on how long it takes hand count their ballots?
UPDATE: As of 4:30 AM, there are still some Harris County votes to be counted. Looking at the details of the statewide primary, the only other unreported results are from Gillespie County, where eight of 14 precincts are in (Harris has 475 of 545 in). Great job, Gillespie County! Speaker Phelan fell back behind his challenger and heads to the runoff as the second-place finisher. Not great for him.
The last sitting Speaker to lose was Rayford Price (what a great name!) in 1972.
Victim of the reform sweep that was a reaction to the Sharpstown scandal.
Go to the library and check out “The Year They Threw The Rascals Out.”
So probably those abominable school vouchers pass next year, which means that I expect to see stories about rural Texans shocked over the decline of their public schools and complaints about recruiting issues for skilled and educated workers not long afterwards.