VOTER'S GUIDE: 2018 Texas Primaries Runoff

There are open seats and competitive runoff primaries across North Texas in 2018. This is a look at some of the more notable contests. Early voting is May 14-18 and runoff election day is May 22.

U.S. House District 5 (replacing Jeb Hensarling)

Republicans

  • Bunni Pounds
  • Lance Gooden

Republican incumbent Jeb Hensarling shocked voters when he announced in late October he wouldn’t run for re-election. He quickly threw his support behind his former campaign manager and fundraiser, Bunni Pounds. Lance Gooden left his Texas State House seat in the area to run for the open U.S. House seat. Gooden finished first in the March GOP primary, with nearly 30 percent of the vote. Pounds finished second, with about 22 percent. Pounds recently got an endorsement from Vice President Pence.

 

U.S. House District 6 (replacing Joe Barton)

Democrats

  • Jana Lynne Sanchez
  • Ruby Faye Woolridge

Republicans

  • J.K. "Jake" Ellzey
  • Ron Wright

Incumbent Joe Barton opted to retire after graphic photos of himself were leaked and made public in the fall. Former Barton aide and current Tarrant County tax assessor Ron Wright has a high ID among voters. Ellis County’s Jake Ellzey is the other candidate who advanced out of the March GOP primary. He unsuccessfully ran for Texas House in 2014 and is currently a Texas Veterans Commission member. Ruby Faye Woolridge won the Democratic primary in 2016, but lost to Barton by nearly 20 points in the general election.

 

U.S. House District 32

Democrats

  • Colin Allred
  • Lillian Salerno

This Dallas district will be one of the most watched general election races of 2018 in the U.S. Incumbent Republican Pete Sessions is being targeted, even though he won 71 percent of the vote in 2016, because Hillary Clinton beat Donald Trump within the district. Former NFL player and Obama housing official Colin Allred came in first place in the March Democratic primary. The surprise was Lillian Salerno, who placed second ahead of other candidates with more money and better name recognition. She worked as Deputy Undersecretary for Rural Development in the Obama administration. The runoff has remained relatively gentile, with Salerno only claiming she has more real-life experience than Allred. Both candidates say they have the ability to win crossover votes from Republicans in the district.

 

Governor

Democrats

  • Andrew White
  • Lupe Valdez

Former Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez and Houston businessman Andrew White finally had their first debate on May 11, where White was questioned about his level of support for women who seek abortions and Valdez was asked about her level of cooperation with ICE officials while running the Dallas County Jail. Valdez has struggled on the stump, with even her supporters admitting she doesn't have a complete mastery of the issues. White has more money, but the question is will that be enough to overcome the advantage Valdez had when she came in first in the March Democratic primary.
 

FOR MORE DETAILS ON ALL OF THE CANDIDATES: https://my.lwv.org/texas/voters-guide