January 18, 2018

This week's Capitol Roundup :
  • PRIMARY ELECTION DEADLINES AND GUIDELINES
  • Seventy Texas House seats will see primary races in 2018. 
  • Preview of House primary races in Austin, Central Texas, and San Antonio
Please feel free to forward this information to others and reply by email with any changes or additions you'd like to see.

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AGC Texas Chapters

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Quote of the Week
"I believe that in a representative democracy, those who serve in public office should do so for a time, not for a lifetime...a confident leader knows it's time to give it back."

-Texas House Speaker Joe Straus
Texas House Speaker Joe Straus (R-San Antonio) announced in the fall that he would not seek re-election to his District 121 seat, which means there will be a new speaker elected at the beginning of the 2019 legislative session. Straus told the press that retiring as speaker would allow a "greater opportunity to express [his] own views and priorities," and that he would "continue to work for a Republican Party that tries to bring Texans together instead of pulling us apart."
Primary Election Deadlines and FAQ's

Primary Voting Deadlines

Monday, Feb. 5, 2018 - Last Day to Register to Vote

Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2018 - First Day of Early Voting

Friday, Feb. 23, 2018 - Mail-in Ballot applications must be received 

Friday, March 2, 2018 - Last Day of Early Voting

Tuesday, March 6, 2018 - ELECTION DAY (mail-in ballots must be received by 7 p.m. if not postmarked. If postmarked by 7 p.m. at election location on election day, then mail-in ballots may be received no later than 5 p.m. on March 7)

How do I know if I'm registered?

You can confirm your registration status on this website by going to Am I Registered? where you will select one of three methods for conducting your search. You can base your search on: 1. your Voter Unique Identifier (VUID), which appears on your voter registration certificate; 2. your Texas driver's license number, if you provided it when you applied for voter registration; or 3. your first and last name. Or, you can call the voter registrar's office in the county where you reside.

How to register?

You can obtain a voter registration application from your voter registrar's office, libraries, most post offices, and high schools. You can also fill out a voter registration application online or request a postage-paid application be mailed to you.

When does my registration become effective?

Your voter registration becomes effective 30 days after it is submitted (and accepted*) by the county voter registrar. The county office will then put your name on the voter registration list, generate your voter certificate, and mail it to you. Once received, be sure to read the information on the back of the certificate, sign by the X on the "front" of the card (the blue area) and keep your voter card in a safe place.
*If your original application is missing required information, you will receive a notice in the mail and have a deadline to respond to the notice.

Click here for more answers to frequently asked questions about voter registration.
Texas House: Austin, Central Texas and San Antonio

As is the case every two years, all 150 Texas House seats are up for election in 2018. However, only 70 of those seats will include primary election races, while 49 seats will have general elections only. There are also 31 seats this year with candidates running completely unopposed (10 Republicans and 21 Democrats).

Of the 70 primary elections on the 2018 ballot, 32 primary races contain Republicans only; 28 primary races contain Democrats only; and 10 races have both Republican and Democratic primaries. 

Over the next three weeks, AGC TBB will outline all 70 House primary elections by region. The following are all candidates running in primary election races in the Austin / Central Texas region and the San Antonio area.  PRIMARY ELECTIONS ARE MARCH 6. 

Click here to see a map of all House districts. Click here to find your district. 

AUSTIN & CENTRAL TEXAS REGION

District 12 - Republican Rep. Kyle Kacal has no primary challenger. Kacal will square off in November against the winner of the Democrat primary between Marianne Arnold and Chris Miller. 

District 13 - The seat has been vacated by Republican Rep. Leighton Schubert. Five Republicans - Jill Wolfskill, David Stall, Marc S. Young, Ben Leman, and Daniel McCarthy - will compete for the Republican nomination. 

District 14 - Republican Rep. John Raney has three primary opponents in Sarah Laningham, Jeston Texeira, and Rick Davis. Two Democrats - Joshua A. Wilkinson and Alex Vidal - will compete for their party's nomination. 

District 45 - The seat has been vacated by Republican Rep. Jason Isaac. Five Republicans - Ken Strange, Amber Pearce, Austin Talley, Amy Akers and Naomi Narvaiz - will compete for the Republican nomination. Three Democrats - Erin Zwiener, Les Carnes, and Rebecca Bell-Metereau - will compete for the Democrat nomination. 

District 46 - Democratic Rep. Dawnna Dukes has five primary opponents in Sheryl Cole, Jose "Chito" Vela, Warren Baker, Ana Cortez, and Casey McKinney. 

District 47 - Republican Rep. Paul Workman has two primary opponents in Jay Wiley and Patty Vredevelt. There are five Democrat primary candidates - Sheri Soltes, Vikki Goodwin, William Simpson, Elaina Fowler, and Candace Aylor.

District 52 - The seat has been vacated by Republican Rep. Larry Gonzales. There are three Republican primary candidates - Cynthia Flores, Jeremy Story, and Christopher L. Ward.

District 53 - Republican Rep. Andrew Murr will has no primary opponent. Murr  will square off in November against the winner of the Democrat primary between Joe P. Herreraand Stephanie Lochte Ertel. 

District 54 - Republican Rep. Scott Cosper has two primary challengers in Brad Buckley and Larry S. Smith. 

District 55 - Republican Rep. Hugh Shine has two primary challengers in Brandon Hall and Christopher "CJ" Grisham. 

District 59 - Republican Rep. J.D. Sheffield will face Chris Evans in the primary election. 

District 73 - Republican Rep. Kyle Biedermann will face Dave Campbell in the primary election. 

SAN ANTONIO AREA

District 116 - Democratic Rep. Diana Arevalo will face Trey Martinez Fischer in the primary election. 

District 117 - Democratic Rep. Philip Cortez will face Terisha Shirley DeDeaux in the primary election. Two Republicans - Carlos Antonio Raymond and Michael Berlanga - will square off in the Republican primary election. 

District 118 - Democratic Rep. Tomas Uresti will face Leo Pacheco in the primary election.

District 121 - The seat has been vacated by Republican Rep. Joe Straus. Six Republicans - Steve Allison, Matt Beebe, Carlton Soules, Adrian Spears, Marc Whyte, and Charlotte Williamson - will compete in the primary election. 

District 122 - Republican Rep. Lyle Larson will face Chris Fails in the primary election. 

District 123 - Democratic Rep. Diego Bernal will face Robert Escobedo in the primary election. 

District 124 - Democratic Rep. Ina Minjarez will face Sergio Contreras in the primary election. 

January
19 - AGC TBB Board Meeting - Austin AGC Office

April
20 - AGC TBB Board Meeting - Austin AGC Office

June
6-9 - AGC TBB Convention at  Nemacolin Woodlands Resort (Farmington, PA)

September
21 - AGC TBB Board Meeting - Austin AGC Office

November
16 - AGC TBB Board Meeting - Austin AGC Office

T o subscribe to the Capitol Roundup newsletter and receive weekly legislative updates from the AGC Texas Building Branch, please contact Zach Buchheit at legislative.assistant@agctbb.org