State Rep. James Talarico, left and Former Congressman Colin Allred, right
From Staff Reports
The battle between Congresswoman Julie Johnson and former Congressman Colin Allred to decide who represents the Democratic Party in Texas’ U.S. House District 33 rages on into a runoff after neither of the candidates reached the 50 percent benchmark in Tuesday’s primary.
Johnson, the first openly LGBTQ+ candidate elected to Congress by any Southern state, trailed Allred 34 percent to 45 percent, with Carlos Quintanilla claiming 13 percent and Zeeshan Hafeez ending with 8 percent.
Some question remains over final vote totals due to last-minute wrangling in the courts, but a May 26 runoff between Johnson and Allred is almost a certainty.
The courts got involved in the Dallas County Democratic Primary when Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett and state Rep. James Talarico — top contenders for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate — asked district courts to extend voting hours in Dallas and Williamson counties. Both counties faced chaos on Election Day after Republicans forced both to move from centralized voting locations, which had been the practice for several years, and go back to assigned neighborhood polling places. The move left many voters confused and created long lines at many polling locations in both counties.
Crockett, in a statement issued Tuesday, called the polling place change an “effort to
suppress the vote, to confuse and inconvenience voters,” and added that it was “having its intended effect as people are being turned away from the polls.”
Talarico had joined her in calling for extended voting hours, and a district judge issued a ruling Tuesday night extending voting in Dallas County until 9 p.m.
But even as voting continued, Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is himself embroiled in a heated battle with incumbent Sen. John Cornyn for the Republican nomination for Senate, went to the Republican-controlled Texas Supreme Court, convincing justices there to enjoin the district court’s ruling and cut off voting at 7 p.m. The court agreed, and the temporary injunction leaves those votes cast after 7 p.m. in legal limbo as the case moves through the courts.
Meanwhile, it appears that Talarico has bested Crockett and claimed the Democratic nomination by a margin of 52 percent to 46 in one of the most high-profile Senate races in the country.
In Dallas County races, openly-LGBTQ+ candidates appear to have fared well. State Rep. Venton Jones, the first openly-HIV-positive person elected to the Texas House, got 52 percent of the vote in a three-way race to avoid a runoff, and will face Republican Jordan Scott Hoffnagle in the fall.
LGBTQ+ candidate Stephanie Hudson easily outpaced Lia Reshae Polk in the race for judge of Criminal District Court No. 1. Incumbent District Judge Tonya Parker was unopposed in the primary, and both women are unopposed in the fall.
Sara Martinez won the Democratic nomination for justice of the peace Precinct 5 with 67 percent of the vote and is unopposed in the general election. Omar Narvaez was the top vote-getter in the race for JP Precinct 5, Place 2, but did not meet the 50 percent threshold and so will face a runoff against Katelyn Logie. The winner will be unopposed in the general election.
Brandon Vance, another LGBTQ+ JP candidate, came in third in the race for JP Precinct 1, Place 1.
Damarcus Offord, known for his work in the office of Eddie Bernice Johnson, placed second in the race for Dallas County clerk, advancing to the runoff.