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Texas' 23rd Congressional District election, 2020 (March 3 Republican primary)
- Primary date: March 3
- Primary type: Open
- Registration deadline(s): Feb. 3
- Online registration: No
- Same-day registration: No
- Early voting starts: Feb. 18
- Absentee/mail voting deadline(s): March 3 (postmarked); March 4 (received)
- Voter ID: Photo ID
- Poll times: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
A Republican Party primary took place on March 3, 2020, in Texas' 23rd Congressional District to determine which Republican candidate would run in the district's general election on November 3, 2020.
Tony Gonzales and Raul Reyes Jr. advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Texas District 23.
| Candidate filing deadline | Primary election | General election |
|---|---|---|
Heading into the election, the incumbent was Will Hurd (Republican), who was first elected in 2014.
This page focuses on Texas' 23rd Congressional District Republican primary. For more in-depth information on the district's Democratic primary and the general election, see the following pages:
- Texas' 23rd Congressional District election, 2020 (March 3 Democratic primary)
- Texas' 23rd Congressional District election, 2020
Election procedure changes in 2020
Ballotpedia provided comprehensive coverage of how election dates and procedures changed in 2020. While the majority of changes occurred as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, some changes occurred for other reasons.
Texas modified its primary election process as follows:
- Election postponements: The primary runoff elections were postponed from May 26 to July 14.
- Political party events: The Republican Party of Texas convention, scheduled for July 16-18 in Houston, was cancelled. The party conducted its convention online.
For a full timeline about election modifications made in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, click here.
Candidates and election results
Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. House Texas District 23
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Tony Gonzales  | 28.1 | 11,522 |
| ✔ |  | Raul Reyes Jr. | 23.3 | 9,555 |
 | Alma Arredondo-Lynch | 13.2 | 5,391 | |
 | Ben Van Winkle | 10.8 | 4,427 | |
 | Jeff McFarlin | 10.3 | 4,241 | |
 | Sharon Thomas | 6.1 | 2,511 | |
 | Cecil B. Jones | 3.8 | 1,552 | |
 | Alia Garcia-Ureste | 2.5 | 1,039 | |
 | Darwin Boedeker | 1.8 | 745 | |
| Total votes: 40,983 | |||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Adam Hansen (R)
Noteworthy primary endorsements
This section includes noteworthy endorsements issued in the primary, added as we learn about them. Click here to read how we define noteworthy primary endorsements. If you are aware of endorsements that should be included, please email us.
| Republican primary endorsements | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Endorsement | Gonzales | |||||
| Newspapers and editorials | ||||||
| San Antonio Express-News[1] | ✔ | |||||
| Elected officials | ||||||
| U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.)[2] | ✔ | |||||
| U.S. Rep. Daniel Crenshaw (R-Texas)[3] | ✔ | |||||
| U.S. Rep. Will Hurd (R-Texas)[4] | ✔ | |||||
| U.S. Rep. Guy Reschenthaler (R-Pa.)[5] | ✔ | |||||
| U.S. Rep. Michael Waltz (R-Fla.)[6] | ✔ | |||||
| Organizations | ||||||
| Empower America[7] | ✔ | |||||
| War Veterans Fund[8] | ✔ | |||||
Primaries in Texas
A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. Texas utilizes an open primary system. Voters do not have to register with a party in advance in order to participate in that party's primary. The voter must sign a pledge stating the following (the language below is taken directly from state statutes)[9]
| “ | The following pledge shall be placed on the primary election ballot above the listing of candidates' names: 'I am a (insert appropriate political party) and understand that I am ineligible to vote or participate in another political party's primary election or convention during this voting year.'[10] | ” |
For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.
Runoff elections in Texas
In Texas, a primary election candidate for congressional, state, or county office must receive a majority of the vote (more than 50%) to be declared the winner. If no candidate wins the requisite majority, a runoff election is held between the top two vote-getters.[11]
As of 2020, the Texas Secretary of State office stated, "There is no requirement to have previously voted in the general primary election in order to participate in the subsequent primary runoff election. Therefore, if a qualified voter did not vote in the general primary election, they are still eligible to vote in the primary runoff election." The office also stated that "if a voter votes in the primary of one party, they will only be able to vote in that party’s primary runoff election. ... After being affiliated with a party, a voter is not able to change or cancel their party affiliation until the end of the calendar year."[12]
District analysis
- See also: The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index
- See also: FiveThirtyEight's elasticity scores
The 2017 Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was R+1, meaning that in the previous two presidential elections, this district's results were 1 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made Texas' 23rd Congressional District the 227th most Republican nationally.[13]
FiveThirtyEight's September 2018 elasticity score for states and congressional districts measured "how sensitive it is to changes in the national political environment." This district's elasticity score was 0.93. This means that for every 1 point the national political mood moved toward a party, the district was expected to move 0.93 points toward that party.[14]
Campaign finance
The chart below contains data from financial reports submitted to the Federal Election Commission.
| Name | Party | Receipts* | Disbursements** | Cash on hand | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alma Arredondo-Lynch | Republican Party | $125,771 | $125,771 | $0 | As of March 31, 2020 |
| Darwin Boedeker | Republican Party | $9,535 | $9,864 | $328 | As of April 2, 2020 |
| Alia Garcia-Ureste | Republican Party | $31,073 | $29,928 | $675 | As of December 31, 2020 |
| Tony Gonzales | Republican Party | $2,882,972 | $2,851,613 | $31,359 | As of December 31, 2020 |
| Cecil B. Jones | Republican Party | $51,170 | $18,964 | $13,936 | As of June 9, 2020 |
| Jeff McFarlin | Republican Party | $93,361 | $93,361 | $0 | As of May 5, 2020 |
| Raul Reyes Jr. | Republican Party | $412,451 | $411,886 | $565 | As of December 31, 2020 |
| Sharon Thomas | Republican Party | $44,106 | $40,260 | $3,846 | As of December 31, 2020 |
| Ben Van Winkle | Republican Party | $18,881 | $18,132 | $750 | As of December 31, 2020 |
|
Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2020. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee." |
|||||
General election race ratings
- See also: Race rating definitions and methods
Ballotpedia provides race ratings from four outlets: The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and DDHQ/The Hill. Each race rating indicates if one party is perceived to have an advantage in the race and, if so, the degree of advantage:
- Safe and Solid ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge and the race is not competitive.
- Likely ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge, but an upset is possible.
- Lean ratings indicate that one party has a small edge, but the race is competitive.[15]
- Toss-up ratings indicate that neither party has an advantage.
Race ratings are informed by a number of factors, including polling, candidate quality, and election result history in the race's district or state.[16][17][18]
| Race ratings: Texas' 23rd Congressional District election, 2020 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Race tracker | Race ratings | ||||||||
| November 3, 2020 | October 27, 2020 | October 20, 2020 | October 13, 2020 | ||||||
| The Cook Political Report | Lean Democratic | Lean Democratic | Lean Democratic | Lean Democratic | |||||
| Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales | Tilt Democratic | Tilt Democratic | Tilt Democratic | Lean Democratic | |||||
| Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball | Lean Democratic | Lean Democratic | Lean Democratic | Lean Democratic | |||||
| Note: Ballotpedia updates external race ratings every week throughout the election season. | |||||||||
District represented by a Republican in 2020 and won by Hillary Clinton in 2016
This district was one of five Republican-held U.S. House districts up in 2020 that Hillary Clinton (D) won in the 2016 presidential election. Most were expected to be among the House's most competitive elections in 2020.
| Republican-held U.S. House districts won by Hillary Clinton in 2016 | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| District | Incumbent | Ran in 2020? | 2018 congressional margin | 2016 presidential margin | 2012 presidential margin | ||||||||
| New York's 24th |  John Katko |
Yes | Republicans+5.3 | Clinton+3.6 | Obama+15.9 | ||||||||
| North Carolina's 2nd | George Holding |
Retired | Republicans+5.6 | Clinton+24.4 | Obama+15.3 | ||||||||
| North Carolina's 6th | Mark Walker |
Retired | Republicans+13.2 | Clinton+21.5 | Obama+17.7 | ||||||||
| Pennsylvania's 1st | Brian Fitzpatrick |
Yes | Republicans+2.5 | Clinton+2.0 | Obama+2.6 | ||||||||
| Texas' 23rd | Will Hurd |
Retired | Republicans+0.4 | Clinton+3.4 | Romney+2.6 | ||||||||
| Source: Sabato's Crystal Ball and Daily Kos | |||||||||||||
Click here to see the 30 U.S. House districts represented by a Democrat in 2020 and won by Donald Trump (R) in 2016.
See also
- Texas' 23rd Congressional District election, 2020 (March 3 Democratic primary)
- Texas' 23rd Congressional District election, 2020
- United States House elections in Texas, 2020 (March 3 Democratic primaries)
- United States House elections in Texas, 2020 (March 3 Republican primaries)
- United States House Democratic Party primaries, 2020
- United States House Republican Party primaries, 2020
- United States House of Representatives elections, 2020
- U.S. House battlegrounds, 2020
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ San Antonio Express-News, "Editorial: Ortiz Jones and Gonzales best in CD 23," February 7, 2020
- ↑ Facebook, "Tony Gonzalez on February 17, 2020," accessed June 18, 2020
- ↑ Tony Gonzales 2020 campaign website, "Rep. Dan Crenshaw Endorses Tony Gonzales for Congress," October 12, 2019
- ↑ Tony Gonzales 2020 campaign website, "Will Hurd Endorses Tony Gonzales for Congress," November 13, 2019
- ↑ Tony Gonzales 2020 campaign website, "Rep. Guy Reschenthaler (PA-14) Endorses Tony Gonzales for Congress," January 8, 2020
- ↑ Twitter, "Tony Gonzales on January 28, 2020," accessed February 14, 2020
- ↑ Twitter, "Matt Mackowiak on February 10, 2020," accessed February 14, 2020
- ↑ Tony Gonzales 2020 campaign website, "War Veterans Fund Endorses Tony Gonzales for Congress," January 13, 2020
- ↑ Texas Statutes, "Section 172.086," accessed October 7, 2024
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Texas Legislature, "Chapter 172. Primary Elections," accessed July 10, 2020
- ↑ Texas Secretary of State, "Election Advisory No. 2020-05," February 11, 2020
- ↑ Cook Political Report, "Introducing the 2017 Cook Political Report Partisan Voter Index," April 7, 2017
- ↑ FiveThirtyEight, "Election Update: The Most (And Least) Elastic States And Districts," September 6, 2018
- ↑ Inside Elections also uses Tilt ratings to indicate an even smaller advantage and greater competitiveness.
- ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Nathan Gonzalez," April 19, 2018
- ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Kyle Kondik," April 19, 2018
- ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Charlie Cook," April 22, 2018
