Heart of the Primaries, Republicans-Special Edition 5 (May 23, 2018)
In this special post-primary edition: runoff for Georgia's gubernatorial nomination, runoffs to replace retiring Texas Congressional incumbents, and pro-Straus candidates win most Texas state House runoffs.
Here are the results of the May 22 primaries so far…
Cagle and Kemp advance to runoff in Georgia gubernatorial primary
Lieutenant Gov. Casey Cagle and Secretary of State Brian Kemp advanced to a July 24 runoff in Georgia’s Republican gubernatorial primary.
Cagle received 38.9 percent of the vote to Kemp’s 25.5 percent. The winner of the runoff will face Stacey Abrams (D) in the general election.
Cagle campaigned on his plans to cut taxes and create jobs in the state. He blocked a tax break for Delta Airlines after the company rescinded a discount program for NRA members following the Parkland school shooting.
Kemp emphasized his ties to rural Georgia and his support for President Trump’s immigration policies.
Former state Sen. Hunter Hill, state Sen. Michael Williams, and businessman Clay Tippins missed the runoff.
Texas congressional runoffs roundup
Nominees in five Republican primary runoffs to replace retiring GOP House incumbents were chosen Tuesday. All but one of these Districts is rated as “safe Republican” heading into the general election. Here’s what happened:
- 2nd Congressional District (Ted Poe’s seat): After narrowly beating out millionaire self-funder Kathaleen Wall to make the runoff, former Navy SEAL Dan Crenshaw handily beat state Rep. Kevin Roberts. Roberts was endorsed by the Texas Association of Business, and Crenshaw was backed by members of the Texas Freedom Caucus. This was the only runoff where the Club for Growth and the House Freedom Caucus were not involved.
- 5th Congressional District (Jeb Hensarling’s seat): Despite receiving endorsements from Vice President Mike Pence, the Club for Growth, Freedom Caucus leaders, and retiring incumbent Jeb Hensarling, political consultant Bunni Pounds was defeated by Lance Gooden, a state representative whose district included parts of the 5th Congressional District.
- 6th Congressional District (Joe Barton’s seat): Former Tarrant County Tax Assessor Ron Wright beat former Navy pilot Jake Ellzey. Wright said he would follow Barton’s lead and join the House Freedom Caucus, while Ellzey said he would not.
- 21st Congressional District (Lamar Smith’s seat): Chip Roy, the former chief of staff to U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, defeated businessman Matt McCall for the Republican nomination. Both candidates said they would join the House Freedom Caucus, but the Club for Growth and the Freedom Caucus backed Roy. This is the only one of the five runoff seats ranked “Likely Republican” instead of “Safe Republican” by the Cook Political Report.
- 27th Congressional District (Blake Farenthold’s former seat): Republican activist Michael Cloud defeated former Texas Water Development Board Chairman Bech Bruun, who held sizable leads in endorsements and fundraising before the March 6 primary. After March 6, however, the Club for Growth and the House Freedom Caucus backed Cloud with over $750,000 in satellite spending.
Pro-Straus candidates win most Texas state House runoffs, but state Rep. Cosper loses
Candidates aligned with retiring Texas state House Speaker Joe Straus (R) won five runoff elections in which they faced Straus opponents allied with the Texas Freedom Caucus and the group Empower Texans.
Straus declared victory and said the results proved “Republican voters want constructive and pragmatic leadership for our fast-growing state.” Of the 15 open Republican primaries in 2018, pro-Straus candidates won eight and anti-Straus candidates won four.
However, pro-Straus incumbent Scott Cosper lost his primary runoff to Brad Buckley, who was not affiliated with either faction. Cosper was the third pro-Straus House incumbent to lose this year. The other two--state Reps. Wayne Faircloth and Jason Villalba--lost to anti-Straus candidates in the March 6 primaries.
In the final runoff, anti-Straus Deanne Marie Metzger defeated unaffiliated Joe Ruzicka. She will face Democratic incumbent Victoria Neave in the general election.
KY House majority leader upset
High School math teacher R. Travis Brenda defeated Kentucky State House Majority Leader Jonathan Shell in the Republican primary in House District 71. According to unofficial results form the Kentucky State Board of Elections, Brenda defeated Shell by about 125 votes, 50.7- 49.3 percent.
Brenda challenged Shell in part because of a new state law that modified teacher pensions. Kentucky teachers rallied in protest against the measure at the state capitol in April, while also uriging legislators to override the governor’s veto of the state budget.
Brenda will face Democrat Mary Renfro, a county school board member, in November.
Three of the 10 GOP state representatives who faced primary opponents were defeated. All four of the incumbent state senators who had primary opponents won their races.
Sturch defeats Collins-Smith in Arkansas state Senate primary
Running with the support of Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R), state Rep. James Sturch defeated Arkansas state Sen. Linda Collins-Smith, who opposed the state's Medicaid expansion and other of Hutchinson’s high-profile policies.
Collins-Smith was the only Arkansas legislative incumbent defeated in the primary.
Two Republican state Representatives, Jana Della Rosa and Dan Douglas, currently hold leads of three and 12 votes, respectively, in their primaries based on complete, but unofficial, results.
June 5 preview
Up next: there are no primaries next week. Enjoy your Memorial Day, and we'll see you again on Monday, June 4, with previews of the June 5 elections in California, New Jersey, New Mexico, Iowa, Alabama, Montana, Mississippi, and South Dakota.
Stories to watch include…
- Can Republicans win both spots in any of California's top-two elections?
- The primary to run for U.S. Senate against Jon Tester (D) in Montana. State Auditor Matt Rosendale has the support of U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Mike Lee (R-Utah), and Rand Paul (R-Ky.). Former state judge Russ Fagg was endorsed by three former Montana governors. President Trump won the state by 20 points in 2016.
- Incumbent Martha Roby (R) faces four challengers in her re-election bid in Alabama's 2nd.
