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Note: Content below was posted and current as of March 16, 2022

Around the Texas Capitol:
House committees get charges, primary election wrap-up

By Lauren Fairbanks, Shayne Woodard and J Pete Laney
TAD Governmental Affairs

Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan has indicated he’s ready for House members to get to work, now that the primary elections are over except for a number of runoffs (more on this below).

Phelan recently issued interim charges, which reflect a variety of issues facing the state and build upon the work accomplished during the most recent legislative sessions. The charges will help guide the House heading into the 88th Legislature, set to begin in 2023, as committees gain input from Texans, research potential legislative solutions and recommend policies to the full House chamber.

Your Texas Association of Dairymen governmental affairs team will be monitoring any charges that could potentially impact Texas farmers and the dairy industry. You can find the full slate of House interim charges here.

Senate interim charges are anticipated in the coming weeks.

In addition to releasing interim charges, Phelan also announced the creation of the House Interim Study Committee on Criminal Justice Reform and the House Select Committee on Health Care Reform. These committees were established to dedicate extra attention to the policies that influence outcomes in the state’s criminal justice and health care systems.

Wrap-up: Texas primary elections

The March 1 primary election results gave us a good indication of what is to come in the May 24 primary runoffs, the Nov. 1 general election and, beyond that, the 2023 Legislative Session.

Some key takeaways and specific race details are included below. Additionally, you can view our Election Returns document that highlights who won their party’s nomination in each race.

Low voter turnout

Voter turnout during a midterm election is historically low, even when the governor and other prominent statewide officials are on the ballot. This trend has been steadily climbing since 2008. In addition to low turnout, an estimated 2 million Texans eligible to vote aren’t even registered. Unofficial results show 11.63% of the state’s registered voters cast ballots in the Republican primaries. On the Democratic side, 6.69% of registered voters cast ballots. For comparison, in the 2018 midterm primary election, 10.16% of registered Republicans and 7.01% of registered Democrats voted.

Harris County plagued with vote counting challenges

 Shortly after polls closed at 7 p.m. on election night, Harris County election officials informed the Secretary of State that they would not be able to count and report results for all early and Election Day votes by the statutory deadline. Under Texas law, all Texas counties are required to report results within 24 hours of polls closing on election night. Ultimately, it took Harris County 28 hours to report (compared to only seven hours in 2018). In addition to the challenges on election night, Harris County officials announced days later that they had mistakenly left 10,000 votes off the county’s vote tally. County commissioners have voted to bring in a third-party consultant to review the county’s elections operations and make recommendations for improvement for the remaining 2022 elections. The election administrator has announced she will resign effective July 1.

Good night for [most] incumbents

 While a handful of incumbents were forced into a runoff, the vast majority sailed to their respective party’s nomination. Few will face a formidable opponent in the November general election, making their reelection bids a success. On the Republican side, Gov. Greg Abbott again won the nomination for governor after facing down two very vocal far-right opponents, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick won with ease, and an attempt to unseat Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller was unsuccessful. Ken Paxton had three strong challengers and was forced into a runoff, but second place finisher George P. Bush ran 20 points behind. In the Senate, no incumbents lost their seat to a primary challenger. In the House, one sitting Democrat, Art Fierro (El Paso) lost, and no incumbent Republicans lost outright. Four incumbents’ fate will be determined in the runoff.

Looking ahead to 2023 legislative session

 In the Senate, only a handful of Senate incumbents faced challengers, and all won their respective party nomination. Five freshman senators are headed to the chamber come January 2023. One Senate seat is expected to be a hotly contested race in the November general election and will determine whether an incumbent will return or there will be six freshmen in the Senate. In the House, 26 members announced their retirement or plans to run for higher office, leaving those seats open. Four incumbents will determine if they’ll return to the Legislature in the May 24 runoff. While most incumbents face little or no opposition in November, an incumbent faces a hotly contested race in about a dozen seats. It remains to be seen, but Speaker Phelan’s prediction of 40 new members in the next session is getting closer to reality.

Primary election overview

Statewide Races

Texas Senate

Texas House

Other election news

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