Polls are open for Super Tuesday, the biggest primary Election Day in the U.S.
North Texas voters have until 7 p.m. to cast their ballots in the Republican or Democratic primary elections, which will determine each party’s most viable candidate for the general election.
Eyes are on several local and statewide races in North Texas, which could determine policymaking in the next Texas legislative session.
[Know when to vote and what to bring to the polls here.]
Here are four stories we're following.
Dallas County Sheriff
Former Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez is running to get her old job back — and she's facing the incumbent she endorsed as her replacement.
Valdez, who served as Dallas County Sheriff from 2005 until 2017, is challenging Sheriff Marian Brown in the Democratic primary.
Brown was appointed interim Sheriff after Valdez stepped down to run for governor. She was reelected in 2020.
Brown, who is the county’s first African American sheriff, was endorsed by her predecessor to take her role. Valdez was the first woman and Hispanic elected sheriff in Dallas County, and the country’s first openly gay Hispanic sheriff.
Ken Paxton's Collin County revenge
Each of the Collin County state House lawmakers up for reelection voted to impeach Ken Paxton in May over allegations of misconduct including bribery and abuse of office.
Now, Jeff Leach, Candy Noble, Matt Shaheen, Justin Holland and Frederick Frazier each have at least one primary opponent. Leach represents Texas House District 67, Noble represents District 89, Shaheen represents District 66, Holland represents District 33 and Frazier represents District 61.
Paxton endorsed four of those challengers: Wayne Richard, who’s running against Shaheen; Abraham George, who’s running against Noble; Daren Meis, who's running against Leach; and Chuck Branch, who’s running against Frazier.
This open opposition against a candidate, while not unprecedented, has become more common in recent election cycles and certainly during the Trump years, Cal Jillson, political science professor at Southern Methodist University, previously told KERA News.
“That has made other leaders willing to go against elected members of their own party, if they think they're not adhering as closely to the main issues that the party supports,” Jillson said.
The race to replace Kay Granger
With U.S. Rep. Kay Granger set to retire, this year’s primaries will set the stage for who will replace the 14-term congresswoman.
Granger’s seat is in Texas’ 12th Congressional District, which former President Donald Trump won by 18 percentage points in 2020.
Two Republicans stand out in the race: Texas representative and House Republican Caucus chair Craig Goldman, R-Fort Worth, and Fort Worth business owner John O’Shea.
Goldman was among the Texas representatives who voted to impeach Paxton last year.
O’Shea is endorsed by Paxton.
Who will challenge Ted Cruz in November?
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz is up for reelection this year and nine Texas Democrats are vying for a chance to run against him in November.
Democratic frontrunners include State Sen. Roland Gutierrez, D-San Antonio, and Congressman Colin Allred, D-Dallas. Both have polled ahead of the pack, but Allred's has a substantial lead in most polling.
Whoever wins would have an uphill battle against Cruz: recent polling shows neither candidate matches up well against the incumbent Republican.
Got a tip? Email Megan Cardona at mcardona@kera.org.
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