They will both still be on the ballot, though only one is now officially running.
Not that Jerry Garcia
(Photo by Carl Lender, CC BY 2.0.)One of the two candidates named Jerry Garcia who filed to run for Precinct 2 constable — the one who did not appear to be actively campaigning — has withdrawn from the race, the Harris County Democratic Party said Wednesday.
A certificate of withdrawal signed by Garcia obtained by the Chronicle states that he ended his bid Monday.
His short, strange trip as a candidate is not over yet, however. He will remain on the ballot for the March 3 Democratic Party primary, though votes for him will not count, Democratic Party spokeswoman Nisha Randle said.
Garcia, who is a cousin of Democratic incumbent Constable Chris Diaz’ wife, was one two men who had filed for the seat bearing the same name as the late Grateful Dead guitarist.
The other Jerry Garcia said the turn of events is further evidence the former candidate never intended to mount a serious campaign. That Garcia, a lieutenant in a neighboring constable precinct, alleges the incumbent Diaz pushed his wife’s cousin to run solely to confuse voters, ensuring his re-election. Diaz’s wife, Ana Diaz, also is the mayor of San Jacinto City, a post her husband held from 2009 to 2011.
Lt. Garcia said the like-named candidate’s withdrawal from the race does not resolve what he sees as an unfair situation.
“They got what they wanted, which was to have two Jerry Garcias on the ballot,” he said. “We’re just trying to work hard and get the word out about it as best we can.”
[…]
Garcia the lawman will appear first on the ballot, followed by the words “Harris County lieutenant.” Garcia the cousin will appear below, with no suffix.
See here for some background, including other aspects of this race. State law says he would have had to withdraw within a day to have been removed from the ballot, a holdover from the old days when file-and-withdraw shenanigans were common. Looking at the electoral code for primaries, I’m not sure why votes for The Other Jerry Garcia won’t be counted, but I presume parties have some discretion when a candidate withdraws. The best thing that can happen is that he has no effect on the race’s outcome.
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