TX-18

Former Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner released a partial endorsement list for his TX-18 bid, which includes Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher, State Representatives Senfronia Thompson, Harold Dutton, Jolanda Jones, and Alma Allen, and Texas Coalition of Black Democrats Chair Dr. Candice Matthews. Prior to serving eight years as Houston’s Mayor, Turner served as a Representative for 27 years in the Texas House. Democratic leaders in Harris County will nominate and select a replacement candidate for the TX-18 seat on Aug. 13.

House races

In an interview with CBS News Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott said that “Republicans are going to pick up several Democrat House seats in this election cycle that will add to the number of people who will be voting in favor of school choice.” He specified that he expects Republicans to flip three seats: HD 70 (currently held by Rep. Mihaela Plesa), one seat in the Corpus Christi area, and HD 80 (currently held by retiring Rep. Tracy King). Although Abbott did not specify, the Corpus Christi district he is referring to is HD 34, whose seat is being vacated by retiring Democratic Rep. Abel Herrero. The candidates for the HD 34 general election are Democrat Solomon Ortiz and Republican Denise Villalobos.