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Texas' 29th Congressional District election (March 6, 2018 Democratic primary)
- General election: Nov. 6
- Voter registration deadline: Oct. 9
- Early voting: Oct. 22 - Nov. 2
- Absentee voting deadline: Nov. 7
- Online registration: No
- Same-day registration: No
- Voter ID: Photo ID required
- Poll times: 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Texas voter? Here's what you need to know. | |
---|---|
Primary Election | March 6, 2018 |
Primary Type | Open |
Candidate Filing Deadline | December 11, 2017 |
Registration Deadline | February 6, 2018 |
Absentee Application Deadline | February 27, 2018 |
Early voting deadline | March 2, 2018 |
General Election | November 6, 2018 |
Polling locations: Go to this page to find early voting locations and your assigned precinct for election day. |
State Sen. Sylvia Garcia (D) won the Democratic primary election for Texas' 29th Congressional District with 63 percent support on March 6, 2018, receiving enough votes to advance directly to the general election on November 6, 2018.
She faced the winner of the Republican primary runoff in the general. With Rep. Gene Green’s (D) retirement, voters in Texas' 29th Congressional District elected a new congressman for the first time in 25 years. They also had a chance to make some local history: This 77 percent majority Hispanic district could have elected its first Hispanic congressman.[1]
University of Houston political scientist Jeronimo Cortina told the Houston Chronicle he hoped the candidates appreciated how big this race was for the Hispanic community.
“[T]his is a very, very, very important opportunity for the Latino community to get not only descriptive representation, but also substantive representation,” Cortina said.[2]
Ballotpedia compiled the following resources to help voters better understand this election:
- Overviews of each of the top candidates, including policy positions and campaign themes;
- Major polls, endorsements, campaign ads, campaign finance information, and satellite spending updates;
- A timeline of major events that occur over the course of the election.
Election results
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. House Texas District 29
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
✔ | ![]() | Sylvia Garcia | 63.3 | 11,727 |
![]() | Muhammad Javed | 20.7 | 3,831 | |
![]() | Roel Garcia | 6.6 | 1,221 | |
![]() | Hector Morales | 3.0 | 563 | |
Augustine Reyes | 2.8 | 525 | ||
![]() | Dominique Garcia | 2.6 | 478 | |
![]() | Pedro Valencia | 1.0 | 193 |
Total votes: 18,538 | ||||
![]() | ||||
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Top candidates
The candidates listed below were selected based on leads in endorsements and campaign finance. They are listed below in alphabetical order.
Sylvia Garcia (D)
Heading into the 2018 election, Garcia was a member of the Texas State Senate, having first been elected in 2013. She previously served in elected office as a member of the Harris County Commissioner's Court, controller for the city of Houston, and as director and presiding judge of the Houston Municipal System. Garcia also served on the Intergovernmental Relations Committee during her time in the state Senate.[3]
In her November 2017 announcement, Garcia referred to her past experience in elected office: "I want to continue fighting for working families, quality education for Texas children, access to health care for all and immigration reform."[4] Garcia's state senatorial campaign website listed her top policy priorities as civil liberties, education, and healthcare.[5]
Garcia has received an endorsement from Teamsters Local 988.[6] She reported $484,884 in contributions as of February 14, 2018.
Tahir Javed (D)
Heading into the 2018 primary, Javed was the CEO of Riceland Healthcare Systems. He founded and served as the CEO of multiple other companies in wholesale, healthcare, and consulting. Javed spent years funding candidates and hosted a fundraiser with Hillary Clinton in Beaumont, Texas. He was born in Pakistan and graduated from Punjab University with a bachelor's degree in economics in 1987.[7]
While campaigning in a heavily Latino district, Javed focused on the similarity he saw between himself and Latinos. "Our struggle is the same," he said. "I was told 'go back to your country' many times."[8] Javed led the pack of candidates in funds raised, reporting $1,226,384 in contributions as of February 14, 2018.
Hector Morales (D)
Morales' political experience includes serving as an intern with state Rep. Kevin Bailey (D) and with the Office of Health Reform under Pres. Barack Obama (D). In the past, Morales worked on the campaigns of Rick Noriega (D) for the U.S. Senate and Barack Obama (D).[9] He has also worked as a school teacher.
Morales' official campaign website described his campaign as "for the people. Not special interests."[10] His website described his policy priorities as education, energy, and tax policy.[11]
Morales received an endorsement in the primary from the Justice Democrats and Our Revolution.[12]
List of all candidates
Democratic primary candidates
Campaign themes and policy stances
Policies
Education
Sylvia Garcia (D): "Senator Garcia knows firsthand the value of a good education and that the success of our state depends on having a well-educated population. That’s why she continues to fight for more funding for our public schools to allow for smaller classes, raises for teachers and improved quality of schools – especially in impoverished neighborhoods throughout her Senate District."[13]
Tahir Javed (D): "As your representative, I will fight for the resources to reduce class size, hire more teachers, and fund afterschool programs. I will also vote to make improve public schools and make higher education more affordable for all – with a program of free public college, a community service forgiveness program for those who go to private college, and greater research investment across all of our higher education institutions."[14]
Hector Morales (D): "If you meet the academic requirements, you go for free. This is not a new concept — most industrialized countries do the exact same thing. If we want to rebuild our economy and encourage innovation in America, we need a highly-educated and highly-skilled workforce. Saddling students with debt is not only destructive to students’ futures, it also slows and depresses our economy."[15]
Healthcare
Sylvia Garcia (D): "Senator Garcia supported the passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2010, which made healthcare accessible to all Americans, and supports its full implementation in Texas. Senator Garcia believes that it was irresponsible to reject Medicaid expansion in Texas, leaving millions – often the poorest of the poor – without healthcare coverage. She will continue to push for a solution to close this coverage gap."[16]
Tahir Javed (D): "We need to go beyond the Affordable Care Act. We need to mend – not end – Obamacare. I support Medicare for all. Period. We also need a Patient’s Bill of Rights to fill in the gaps in the system, and move towards a world-class healthcare system."[14]
Hector Morales (D): "Provide all Americans with healthcare through Medicare. This will include high-quality general, dental, vision, and mental health coverage. Medicare is more efficient than any private insurance provider and is accepted by 95% of doctors. Under our plan, private insurance companies will be allowed to compete with each other in a truly free market to offer supplemental insurance plans. The pharmaceutical industry gouges the American people and spends the vast majority of its profits on advertising and lobbying."[15]
Immigration
Sylvia Garcia (D): "We must simplify the current procedures to become a legal resident which lead to years of red tape and gridlock. We are splitting-up families and sending back hard-working people when what we need to do is to continue the American tradition of embracing the talents and intelligence that immigrants have always brought to this country."[17]
Hector Morales (D): "Create a swift and secure roadmap to citizenship. We want immigrants to come to America — but we do not want them coming here in unsafe and illegal ways. Today, too many potential immigrants risk their lives by illicitly crossing desert borders and paying human smugglers. To fix this problem, we must establish a safer way for potential immigrants to come to America — establishing legal immigration centers around the world to recruit the best working families in Latin America and the Caribbean and elsewhere to join the American family."[15]
Campaign tactics and strategies
Campaign advertisements
Tahir Javed
Support
|
Online presence
The following social media statistics were compiled on February 6, 2018.
Candidate | Followers | Likes | Comments on Last Ten Posts | Followers | Following | Tweets |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() |
14,744 | 11,098 | 2 | 8,898 | 592 | 13,200 |
![]() |
2,011 | 1,982 | 61 | 12 | 0 | 0 |
![]() |
696 | 676 | 10 | 912 | 964 | 405 |
Tweets by Sylvia Garcia Tweets by Tahir Javed Tweets by Hector Morales
Noteworthy events
Javed hosts fundraiser with Schumer
Muhammad Javed hosted a Houston fundraiser with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on January 27, 2018. At the event attended by about 100 people, Sen. Schumer emphasized Democrats' commitment to progress on key immigration reform. "We Democrats have made a stand...When Trump shut down the government, we said, 'No, we're going to stand up for the Dreamers.' And we are not backing off," he said.[18]
Also expected at the event were Sens. Bill Nelson (D) and Joe Donnelly (D) and Reps. Beto O'Rourke (D) and Jacky Rosen (D).[19]
Campaign finance
The table below details the campaign finance reports filed by the candidates in this race through February 14, 2018.[20]
Endorsements
Democratic candidate endorsements | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Endorsement | Dominique Garcia | Roel Garcia | Sylvia Garcia | Javed | Morales | Reyes | Valencia | |
Federal officeholders | ||||||||
Sen. Charles Schumer (D)[21] | ✔ | |||||||
Rep. Hank Johnson (D)[22] | ✔ | |||||||
Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi[22] | ✔ | |||||||
Organizations | ||||||||
NARAL Pro-Choice America[23] | ✔ | |||||||
Texas Coalition of Black Democrats[22] | ✔ | |||||||
Harris County Tejano Democrats[24] | ✔ | |||||||
Our Revolution Texas[25] | ✔ | |||||||
Publications | ||||||||
Houston Chronicle[26] | ✔ | |||||||
PAC's | ||||||||
League of Conservation Voters Action Fund[27] | ✔ | |||||||
EMILY's List[28] | ✔ | |||||||
BOLD PAC[24] | ✔ |
Timeline
The timeline below lists the noteworthy events that occurred in this primary election.
- March 6, 2018: Primary Election Day, Sylvia Garcia wins outright and advances to primary
- February 23, 2018: Absentee ballot application deadline
- February 5, 2018: Voter registration deadline
- December 11, 2017: Candidate filing deadline passes
- November 13, 2017: Rep. Gene Green (D) announces he will not seek re-election
Race ratings
- See also: Race rating definitions and methods
Race ratings: Texas' 29th Congressional District election, 2018 | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Race tracker | Race ratings | ||||||||
October 30, 2018 | October 23, 2018 | October 16, 2018 | October 9, 2018 | ||||||
The Cook Political Report | Solid Democratic | Solid Democratic | Solid Democratic | Solid Democratic | |||||
Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales | Solid Democratic | Solid Democratic | Solid Democratic | Solid Democratic | |||||
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball | Safe Democratic | Safe Democratic | Safe Democratic | Safe Democratic | |||||
Note: Ballotpedia updates external race ratings every two weeks throughout the election season. |
Early voting in Texas primaries, 2018
Click here to learn about historic early voting turnout for both parties in Texas in 2014 and 2018.
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 D+19, meaning that in the previous two presidential elections, this district's results were 19 percentage points more Democratic than the national average. This made Texas' 29th Congressional District the 71st most Democratic nationally.[29]
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 1.09. This means that for every 1 point the national political mood moved toward a party, the district was expected to move 1.09 points toward that party.[30]
State overview
Partisan control
This section details the partisan control of federal and state positions in Texas heading into the 2018 elections.
Congressional delegation
- Republicans held both U.S. Senate seats in Texas.
- Republicans held 25 of 36 U.S. House seats in Texas, and Democrats held 11.
State executives
- As of May 2018, Republicans held six of 11 state executive positions and five positions were held by nonpartisan officials.
- The governor of Texas was Republican Greg Abbott.
State legislature
- Republicans controlled both chambers of the Texas State Legislature. They had a 93-55 majority in the state House and a 21-10 majority in the state Senate.
Trifecta status
- Texas was a Republican trifecta, meaning that the Republican Party held the governorship, a majority in the state Senate, and a majority in the state House.
2018 elections
- See also: Texas elections, 2018
Texas held elections for the following positions in 2018:
- The Class 1 U.S. Senate seat held by Ted Cruz (R)
- All 36 U.S. House seats
- Governor
- Five lower state executive positions
- 15 of 31 state Senate seats
- All 150 state House seats
- Local judicial offices
- Local school boards
- Municipal elections in Arlington, Austin, Bexar County, Collin County, Corpus Christi, Dallas County, Denton County, El Paso County, Fort Bend County, Garland, Harris County, Irving, Laredo, Lubbock, Lubbock County, Nueces County, Tarrant County, Travis County, Webb County, and Williamson County
Demographics
Demographic data for Texas | ||
---|---|---|
Texas | U.S. | |
Total population: | 27,429,639 | 316,515,021 |
Land area (sq mi): | 261,232 | 3,531,905 |
Race and ethnicity** | ||
White: | 74.9% | 73.6% |
Black/African American: | 11.9% | 12.6% |
Asian: | 4.2% | 5.1% |
Native American: | 0.5% | 0.8% |
Pacific Islander: | 0.1% | 0.2% |
Two or more: | 2.5% | 3% |
Hispanic/Latino: | 38.4% | 17.1% |
Education | ||
High school graduation rate: | 81.9% | 86.7% |
College graduation rate: | 27.6% | 29.8% |
Income | ||
Median household income: | $53,207 | $53,889 |
Persons below poverty level: | 19.9% | 11.3% |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Texas. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. |
As of July 2016, Texas had a population of approximately 27,862,596 people, and its three largest cities were Houston (pop. est. 2.3 million), San Antonio (pop. est. 1.5 million), and Dallas (pop. est. 1.3 million).[31][32]
State election history
This section provides an overview of federal and state elections in Texas from 2000 to 2016.
Historical elections
Presidential elections, 2000-2016
This chart shows the results of the presidential election in Texas every year from 2000 to 2016.
Election results (President of the United States), Texas 2000-2016[33][34] | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | First-place candidate | First-place candidate votes (%) | Second-place candidate | Second-place candidate votes (%) | Margin of victory (%) |
2016 | ![]() |
52.23% | ![]() |
43.24% | 8.99% |
2012 | ![]() |
57.17% | ![]() |
41.38% | 15.79% |
2008 | ![]() |
55.45% | ![]() |
43.68% | 11.77% |
2004 | ![]() |
61.09% | ![]() |
38.22% | 22.87% |
2000 | ![]() |
59.30% | ![]() |
37.98% | 21.32% |
U.S. Senate elections, 2000-2016
This chart shows the results of U.S. Senate races in Texas from 2000 to 2016. Every state has two Senate seats, and each seat goes up for election every six years. The terms of the seats are staggered so that roughly one-third of the seats are up every two years.
Election results (U.S. Senator), Texas 2000-2016[35] | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | First-place candidate | First-place candidate votes (%) | Second-place candidate | Second-place candidate votes (%) | Margin of victory (%) |
2014[36] | ![]() |
61.56% | ![]() |
34.36% | 27.20% |
2012[37] | ![]() |
56.46% | ![]() |
40.62% | 15.84% |
2008[38] | ![]() |
54.82% | ![]() |
42.84% | 11.98% |
2006[39] | ![]() |
61.69% | ![]() |
36.04% | 25.65% |
2002[40] | ![]() |
55.30% | ![]() |
43.33% | 11.97% |
2000[41] | ![]() |
65.04% | ![]() |
32.35% | 32.69% |
Gubernatorial elections, 2000-2014
This chart shows the results of the four gubernatorial elections held between 2000 and 2014. Gubernatorial elections are held every four years in Texas.
Election results (Governor), Texas 2000-2016[42] | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | First-place candidate | First-place candidate votes (%) | Second-place candidate | Second-place candidate votes (%) | Margin of victory (%) |
2014 | ![]() |
59.27% | ![]() |
38.90% | 20.37% |
2010 | ![]() |
54.97% | ![]() |
42.30% | 12.67% |
2006 | ![]() |
39.03% | ![]() |
29.79% | 9.24% |
2002 | ![]() |
57.81% | ![]() |
39.96% | 17.85% |
Congressional delegation, 2000-2016
This chart shows the number of Democrats and Republicans who were elected to represent Texas in the U.S. House from 2000 to 2016. Elections for U.S. House seats are held every two years.
Trifectas, 1992-2017
A state government trifecta occurs when one party controls both chambers of the state legislature and the governor's office.
Texas Party Control: 1992-2025
Three years of Democratic trifectas • Twenty-three years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.
Year | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99 | 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Governor | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R |
Senate | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R |
House | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R |
See also
- United States House of Representatives elections in Texas, 2018
- United States House elections in Texas (March 6, 2018 Democratic primaries)
- Texas' 29th Congressional District election (March 6, 2018 Republican primary)
- United States House of Representatives elections, 2018
- Texas' 29th Congressional District
External links
- Search Google News for this topic
- U.S. House of Representatives
- Texas Secretary of State - Elections Division
- Dominique Garcia:
- Roel Garcia:
- Sylvia Garcia:
- Tahir Javed:
- Hector Morales:
- Pedro Valencia:
Footnotes
- ↑ United States Census Bureau, "QuickFacts," accessed January 10, 2018
- ↑ Houston Chronicle, "Green's retirement means Houston could send first Latino to Congress," November 14, 2017
- ↑ Texas State Senate, "Senator Sylvia R. Garcia," accessed December 14, 2017
- ↑ Click 2 Houston, "State Sen. Sylvia Garcia says she's running for Congress," November 14, 2017
- ↑ Sylvia Garcia for Texas Senate, "Home," accessed December 14, 2017
- ↑ PR Newswire, "State Senator Sylvia Garcia Receives Teamsters Support In Bid For Congress," November 22, 2017
- ↑ Tahir Javed 2018 campaign website, "About Tahir," accessed February 6, 2018
- ↑ Chron, "Unexpected rival from Beaumont emerges in race to represent Houston Latinos," January 15, 2018
- ↑ Hector Morales, "About," accessed December 14, 2017
- ↑ Hector Morales for Congress, "Home," accessed December 14, 2017
- ↑ Hector Morales for Congress, "Solving the issues we face," accessed December 14, 2017
- ↑ Twitter, "Justice Democrats," June 13, 2017
- ↑ Sylvia Garcia for Texas Senate, "Education," accessed December 15, 2017
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Tahir Javed 2018 campaign website, "Our Plan," accessed February 6, 2018
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 Hector Morales for Congress, "Solving the issues we face," accessed December 15, 2017
- ↑ Sylvia Garcia for Texas Senate, "Healthcare," accessed December 15, 2017
- ↑ Sylvia Garcia for Texas Senate, "Immigration," accessed December 15, 2017
- ↑ Chron, "Straight from shutdown, Chuck Schumer heads for Houston fundraiser," January 23, 2018
- ↑ ActBlue, "Saturday Jan 27 event," accessed February 5, 2018
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Browse Candidates for House of Representatives," accessed February 14, 2018
- ↑ Texas Tribune, "New York Democrat Chuck Schumer endorses Tahir Javed in Houston race to replace U.S. Rep. Gene Green," February 21, 2018
- ↑ 22.0 22.1 22.2 Tahir Javed 2018 campaign website, "Endorsements," accessed February 23, 2018
- ↑ NARAL Pro-Choice America, "Candidates Earn Endorsement from Nation’s Leading Pro-Choice Advocacy Group," February 28, 2018
- ↑ 24.0 24.1 Chron, "Sylvia Garcia picks up key endorsements in congressional race," January 15, 2018
- ↑ Email submission to Ballotpedia, February 12, 2018
- ↑ Houston Chronicle, "For the 29th District," February 5, 2018
- ↑ League of Conservation Voters, "LCV Action Fund Endorses Sylvia Garcia for Congress," March 2, 2018
- ↑ Emily's List, "Sylvia Garcia," January 26, 2018
- ↑ 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
- ↑ United States Census Bureau, "QuickFacts Texas," accessed December 12, 2017
- ↑ United States Census Bureau, "QuickFacts Houston; San Antonio; Dallas," accessed December 13, 2017
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "2012 Election Results for the U.S. President, the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives," accessed December 13, 2017
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Official 2016 Presidential General Election Results," January 30, 2017
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Federal Elections 2014: Election Results for the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives," accessed December 13, 2017
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "2014 Official Election Results for United States Senate," accessed December 13, 2017
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "2012 Official Election Results for United States Senate," accessed December 13, 2017
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "2008 Official Election Results for United States Senate," accessed December 13, 2017
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "2006 Official Election Results for United States Senate," accessed December 13, 2017
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "2002 Official Election Results for United States Senate," accessed December 13, 2017
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "2000 Official Election Results for United States Senate," accessed December 13, 2017
- ↑ Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections, "Texas Election Results," accessed December 13, 2017