Texas state legislative Republican primaries, 2018/Runoffs

Elections in Texas, 2018

• 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.

---

On the ballot: U.S. Senate • U.S. House • Congressional special elections • Governor • Lt. Gov • Attorney General • State executive offices • State Senate • State House • Special state legislative • Supreme court • Appellate courts • Local judges • Local ballot measures • School boards • Municipal • Recalls • Democratic primaries • Republican primaries

Ballotpedia's series on the Texas state legislative Republican primaries
Overview
Page 1: Election night coverage of primary matchups
Page 2: Races to watch in the 2018 primaries
Page 3: Top 10 races in 2018
Page 4: Factional conflict in the 2018 primaries
Page 5: What was at stake in the 2018 primaries?
Page 6: Campaign activity by influencers and satellite organizations
Page 7: Noteworthy events, timeline, and media coverage of the 2018 primaries
Page 8: Competitiveness in the 2018 primaries
Page 9: Campaign finance in the 2018 primaries
Page 10: May 22 primary runoffs
Read as one page →

State legislative Republican Party primary runoff elections were held in Texas on May 22, 2018, in order to select the party's candidates for Texas' 2018 elections. The runoffs were necessary in primary elections where no candidate received more than 50 percent of the votes. Runoffs were held in:

• State House District 4
• State House District 8
• State House District 13
• State House District 54
• State House District 62
• State House District 107
• State House District 121

The primary runoffs featured matchups between candidates aligned with retiring House Speaker Joe Straus and those opposed to him. Pro-Straus candidates defeated anti-Straus candidates in five of the seven May 22 runoffs (Districts 4, 8, 13, 62, and 121). The other two runoffs were in District 54, where incumbent Scott Cosper lost to a challenger with an unknown factional affiliation, and District 107, where an anti-Straus candidate beat an unaffiliated candidate to take on state Rep. Victoria Neave Criado (D) in the general election.

The pro-Straus vs. anti-Straus divide was on full display in the District 121 race for Straus' soon-to-be-vacated seat. Steve Allison, who was endorsed by Straus, defeated Matt Beebe, who challenged Straus unsuccessfully in 2012 and 2014. They disagreed on how to select the next House speaker.

Beebe wanted the Republican caucus to vote as a bloc for a candidate it internally selects. Allison would not commit to voting for the caucus' choice. The disagreement over the issue goes back to Straus' first election as speaker in 2009 when a small group of Republicans aligned with most Democrats to choose him over the candidate conservative Republicans supported.

The charts below outline the March 6 primary races for the state Senate and the state House. They show how the factions performed on election night.

Texas Senate Republicans
Party		Before March 6 primaries	After March 6 primaries
	Pro-Straus	2	1
	Anti-Straus	1	3
	Unknown	3	3
	Open seats	1	-
	Runoffs	-	-
	Too close to call	-	-
Total		7	7

Texas House Republicans
Party		Before March 6 primaries	After March 6 primaries
	Pro-Straus	20	20
	Anti-Straus	4	9
	Unknown	2	5
	Open seats	15	-
	Runoffs	-	7
	Too close to call	-	-
Total		41	41

This chart shows how the factions performed in the May 22 primary runoffs:

Texas House Republicans
Party		After March 6 primaries	After May 22 primary runoffs
	Pro-Straus	20	25
	Anti-Straus	9	10
	Unknown	5	6
	Runoffs	7	-
	Too close to call	-	-
Total		41	41

Who can participate in a primary runoff in Texas? According to the Texas Election Code, a voter can participate in a party's primary runoff if he or she is registered as a member of that party, voted in that party's initial primary, or signs an affidavit "stating that the voter did not vote in the primary or participate in a convention of another party during the same voting year." Click here for more information on primary laws in Texas.

Overview of primary runoffs

Visit this page to learn more about why candidates were assigned their factional affiliations in the chart below:

Factional alliances in the Texas House of Representatives Republican primary runoffs
Primary contests				Pro-Straus organizations					Anti-Straus organizations
District	Candidate	Faction	Election result	ART	TAB	TMA	TPP		ET	TRL	TV	YCT
District 4
	Keith Bell	Pro-Straus	Won				✔
	Stuart Spitzer	Anti-Straus	Lost						✔	✔		✔
District 8
	Cody Harris	Pro-Straus	Won	✔	✔
	Thomas McNutt	Anti-Straus	Lost						✔	✔		✔
District 13
	Ben Leman	Pro-Straus	Won	✔
	Jill Wolfskill	Anti-Straus	Lost						✔	✔
District 54
	Brad Buckley	Unknown	Won
	Scott Cosper (i)	Pro-Straus	Lost	✔	✔	✔	✔
District 62
	Brent Lawson	Anti-Straus	Lost							✔	✔
	Reggie Smith	Pro-Straus	Won	✔	✔		✔
District 107
	Deanna Maria Metzger	Anti-Straus	Won						✔	✔		✔
	Joe Ruzicka	Unknown	Lost
District 121
	Steve Allison	Pro-Straus	Won				✔
	Matt Beebe	Anti-Straus	Lost						✔	✔	✔

State House District 4

See our coverage of the March 6, 2018, primary election here

Keith Bell (pro-Straus) and Stuart Spitzer (anti-Straus) competed in the runoff. The seat was previously held by state Rep. Lance Gooden (R), who did not seek re-election in 2018.

May 22, 2018 primary runoff election results

Texas House of Representatives, District 4 Republican Primary Runoff, 2018
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Keith Bell	58.90%	7,892
Stuart Spitzer	41.10%	5,508
Total Votes		13,400
Source: Texas Tribune

March 6, 2018 primary election results

Texas House of Representatives, District 4 Republican Primary, 2018
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Stuart Spitzer	45.77%	9,376
Keith Bell	26.20%	5,367
Ashley McKee	25.72%	5,269
Earl Brunner	2.31%	474
Total Votes		20,486

State House District 8

See our coverage of the March 6, 2018, primary election here

Cody Harris (pro-Straus) and Thomas McNutt (anti-Straus) competed in the runoff. The seat was previously held by state Rep. Byron Cook (R), who did not seek re-election in 2018.

The Dallas Morning News called this race the "most closely watched" of all May 22 runoffs because of the anti-Straus and pro-Straus influencers lining up behind the candidates, including Ted Cruz and Greg Abbott for McNutt and former state Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples and former Insurance Commissioner Elton Bomer for Harris.

"This is a race that will help push the balance either towards a speaker closer to the mold of a Joe Straus or closer to the mold of a Dan Patrick," said Rice University political scientist Mark Jones. "It will either strengthen the hand of centrist conservatives when they meet in the Republican caucus to choose the next speaker in late 2018 or early 2019, or it will weaken their hand and strengthen that of movement conservatives as they attempt to elect a speaker with their political values and policy priorities."

Harris and McNutt said they supported legislation that would require persons to use the bathroom that corresponds with the gender on their birth certificate. However, Harris said he wanted the states, not local governments, to pay for the costs of it, which McNutt criticized as only half endorsing the measure. Former state Rep. Cook helped defeated the bathroom legislation in 2017.

McNutt also criticized Harris for his opposition to a bill that would require elections whenever the local government raised property taxes by 4 percent or more. McNutt said it was an issue of local control, while Harris said a trigger as low as 4 percent might prevent local governments from paying for essential services.

Harris criticized McNutt for being tied to the group Empower Texans. He said that McNutt would represent the conservative group's interests at the expense of the district.

Campaign activity after March 6 primaries

• Former District 8 candidate Bobby Vickery endorsed Cody Harris.
• Gov. Greg Abbott and former Texas Gov. Rick Perry endorsed Thomas McNutt.
• Linda Timmerman, the Republican candidate who did not make the runoff, endorsed Harris in the runoff.

May 22, 2018 primary runoff election results

Texas House of Representatives, District 8 Republican Primary Runoff, 2018
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Cody Harris	56.97%	8,379
Thomas McNutt	43.03%	6,329
Total Votes		14,708
Source: Texas Tribune

March 6, 2018 primary election results

Texas House of Representatives, District 8 Republican Primary, 2018
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Cody Harris	44.93%	8,864
Thomas McNutt	39.46%	7,786
Linda Timmerman	15.61%	3,080
Total Votes		19,730

State House District 13

See our coverage of the March 6, 2018, primary election here

Ben Leman (pro-Straus) and Jill Wolfskill (anti-Straus) competed in the runoff. The seat was previously held by state Rep. Leighton Schubert (R), who did not seek re-election in 2018.

Campaign activity after March 6 primaries

• Marc Young and Daniel McCarthy, both Republican candidates who did not make the runoff, endorsed Jill Wolfskill in the race.

May 22, 2018 primary runoff election results

Texas House of Representatives, District 13 Republican Primary Runoff, 2018
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Ben Leman	57.33%	8,062
Jill Wolfskill	42.67%	6,000
Total Votes		14,062
Source: Texas Tribune

March 6, 2018 primary election results

Texas House of Representatives, District 13 Republican Primary, 2018
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Jill Wolfskill	38.51%	8,874
Ben Leman	36.24%	8,349
David Stall	13.73%	3,163
Daniel McCarthy	6.01%	1,385
Marc Young	5.51%	1,270
Total Votes		23,041

State House District 54

See our coverage of the March 6, 2018, primary election here

Incumbent Scott Cosper (pro-Straus) and Brad Buckley (unknown factional affiliation) competed in the runoff.

May 22, 2018 primary runoff election results

Texas House of Representatives, District 54 Republican Primary Runoff, 2018
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Brad Buckley	58.26%	4,445
Scott Cosper Incumbent	41.74%	3,185
Total Votes		7,630
Source: Texas Tribune

March 6, 2018 primary election results

Texas House of Representatives, District 54 Republican Primary, 2018
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Scott Cosper Incumbent	44.56%	4,472
Brad Buckley	41.58%	4,173
Larry Smith	13.85%	1,390
Total Votes		10,035

State House District 62

See our coverage of the March 6, 2018, primary election here

Reggie Smith (pro-Straus) and Brent Lawson (anti-Straus) competed in the runoff. The seat was previously held by state Rep. Larry Phillips (R), who did not seek re-election in 2018.

Campaign activity after March 6 primaries

• Tom Bean Mayor Sherry Howard endorsed Reggie Smith.
• Sherman City Councilmembers Joshua Stevenson, Daron Holland, and Pam Howeth endorsed Reggie Smith.

May 22, 2018 primary runoff election results

Texas House of Representatives, District 62 Republican Primary Runoff, 2018
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Reggie Smith	71.19%	6,227
Brent Lawson	28.81%	2,520
Total Votes		8,747
Source: Texas Tribune

March 6, 2018 primary election results

Texas House of Representatives, District 62 Republican Primary, 2018
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Reggie Smith	45.78%	7,885
Brent Lawson	34.35%	5,916
Kevin Couch	19.87%	3,423
Total Votes		17,224

State House District 107

See our coverage of the March 6, 2018, primary election here

Deanna Maria Metzger (anti-Straus) and Joe Ruzicka (unknown factional affiliation) competed in the runoff. The winner faced incumbent Victoria Neave Criado (D) in the general election.

Campaign activity after March 6 primaries

• Brad Perry, the Republican candidate who did not make the runoff, endorsed Ruzicka in the runoff.

May 22, 2018 primary runoff election results

Texas House of Representatives, District 107 Republican Primary Runoff, 2018
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Deanna Maria Metzger	56.10%	2,247
Joe Ruzicka	43.90%	1,758
Total Votes		4,005
Source: Texas Tribune

March 6, 2018 primary election results

Texas House of Representatives, District 107 Republican Primary, 2018
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Deanna Maria Metzger	45.30%	3,413
Joe Ruzicka	27.39%	2,064
Brad Perry	27.31%	2,058
Total Votes		7,535

State House District 121

See our coverage of the March 6, 2018, primary election here

Steve Allison (pro-Straus) and Matt Beebe (anti-Straus) competed in the runoff. The seat was previously held by state Rep. Joe Straus (R), who did not seek re-election in 2018.

Allison and Beebe disagreed on how to select the next Texas House speaker. Allison said he would not commit to voting for the choice of the House Republican caucus but that he would support a conservative candidate.

Allison criticized Beebe for saying he would pledge to vote for the caucus' choice and his connection to the group Empower Texans, saying, " My opponent owes his allegiance to Empower Texans, the West Texas special interest group who has funded 90% of this and his prior two unsuccessful runs for this office. ... This should concern the people of our district.”

Beebe said the following in response: “It is not surprising that my opponent wants to redirect the conversation to supporters outside the district to avoid acknowledging how increasingly out of touch he is with the district,” he wrote. “...The only reason a candidate would refuse to commit to (caucusing) is that they believe Democrats should have greater influence in the selection of the next Speaker — this is simply unacceptable to me, and unacceptable to more than 80% of District 121 Republican primary voters.”

Campaign activity after March 6 primaries

• Joe Straus endorsed Steve Allison on April 19, 2018.

May 22, 2018 primary runoff election results

Texas House of Representatives, District 121 Republican Primary Runoff, 2018
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Steve Allison	57.46%	6,054
Matt Beebe	42.54%	4,482
Total Votes		10,536
Source: Texas Tribune

March 6, 2018 primary election results

Texas House of Representatives, District 121 Republican Primary, 2018
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Matt Beebe	29.50%	4,351
Steve Allison	26.33%	3,884
Carlton Soules	13.19%	1,945
Charlotte Williamson	12.85%	1,896
Marc Whyte	12.35%	1,821
Adrian Spears	5.78%	853
Total Votes		14,750