Texas state legislative Republican primaries, 2018/Runoffs
- 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.
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 | |
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.[2]
Campaign activity after March 6 primaries
- Former District 8 candidate Bobby Vickery endorsed Cody Harris.[2]
- Gov. Greg Abbott and former Texas Gov. Rick Perry endorsed Thomas McNutt.[2]
- Linda Timmerman, the Republican candidate who did not make the runoff, endorsed Harris in the runoff.[3]
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.[4]
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.[4]
- Sherman City Councilmembers Joshua Stevenson, Daron Holland, and Pam Howeth endorsed Reggie Smith.[5][6][7]
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.[3]
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.”[8]
Campaign activity after March 6 primaries
- Joe Straus endorsed Steve Allison on April 19, 2018.[9]
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 | |
Footnotes
- ↑ Texas Election Code, "Section 172.125," accessed March 9, 2018
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Dallas Morning News, "In runoffs for Texas House, will GOP voters make a hard-right turn or stay in the middle?" May 13, 2018
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Texas Tribune, "The Blast," March 12, 2018
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Texas Tribune, "The Blast," March 20, 2018
- ↑ Texas Tribune, "The Blast," March 14, 2018
- ↑ Texas Tribune, "The Blast," March 15, 2018
- ↑ Texas Tribune, "The Blast," March 19, 2018
- ↑ San Antonio Express-News, "Allison, Beebe disagree on how to pick next Texas House speaker," April 25, 2018
- ↑ Texas Tribune, "Straus endorses candidate to replace him in House District 121," April 19, 2018
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
