Austin, Texas — After failing to win more than half the Texas Republican primary, incumbent U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales will face Brandon Herrera in a May runoff. The Texas House primary on Tuesday had several close battles, including Republican Rep. Kay Granger's open seat.
Months after losing a bid to become Houston's mayor, Democratic Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee tried to preserve her position in Congress. Monica De La Cruz, a Republican, won the Republican primary and will fight Democratic business owner Michelle Vallejo in November to keep her contested Texas-Mexico seat.
Jackson Lee announced her Houston district reelection bid in December after losing the mayor's race. In an upset, veteran Democratic state senator John Whitmire defeated Jackson Lee to become mayor of the nation's fourth-largest city after she was criticized over an unsubstantiated audio tape of her cursing at staff workers.
When the longtime congresswoman launched her mayoral bid, former Houston City Councilwoman Amanda Edwards dropped out and ran for Jackson Lee's seat. In her nearly three-decade House tenure, Jackson Lee has defeated every candidate she has faced. Edwards competed in fundraising.
The winner will advance to November in a Democratic district. Granger's November decision to not run again left the 12th Congressional District in Fort Worth open for the first time in nearly 30 years.
Texas state Rep. Craig Goldman challenges conservative former banker turned real estate developer and construction industry owner John O'Shea in the Republican primary. Because Goldman voted to impeach Paxton last year, GOP Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton supports O'Shea. Paxton nearly avoided corruption and office abuse charges.
This is Republican U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales' first campaign since the state party sanctioned him for supporting same-sex marriage and gun safety regulations after the 2022 Uvalde school tragedy that killed 21 people.
Gonzales faces YouTube gun rights activist Brandon Herrera in a May 28 runoff. Herrera challenged Gonzales in the GOP primary with four others. The contender must receive above 50% of the vote to avoid a runoff. According to his campaign site, pistol manufacturer Herrera, whose family is from Texas, moved to Texas in 2020 because to COVID-19 restrictions.
The district runs along the U.S.-Mexico border from El Paso to San Antonio and is concerned with immigration. The district includes Eagle Pass, where Republican Gov. Greg Abbott and President Joe Biden are fighting over immigration enforcement. San Antonio native Gonzales was elected in 2020.
Republican U.S. Rep. Monica de la Cruz won the Republican nomination to defend her tight South Texas district in the Rio Grande Valley. Businesswoman Michelle Vallejo will challenge Cruz in the Democratic primary on Tuesday. Democrats want the seat in November. The district, which spans the U.S.-Mexico border to a county east of San Antonio, also addresses immigration.
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