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Houston-area voters will help decide the next United States president in November, along with weighing in on a U.S. Senate race between incumbent Texas Republican Ted Cruz and his Democratic challenger Colin Allred.
But first, local voters must settle a series of primary races from March.
The primary runoff scheduled for May 28 includes some notable Houston-area races, including the battle to succeed new Houston Mayor John Whitmire in the Texas Senate, where he served for more than four decades. There also is a hotly contested Texas House runoff between controversial incumbent Democrat Shawn Thierry and her up-and-coming challenger Lauren Ashley Simmons, among other races.
East of Houston, in the Beaumont and Port Arthur area, there is a Republican runoff on the ballot with significant implications on the trajectory of statewide politics. State Rep. Dade Phelan of District 21 trailed challenger David Covey in the March 5 primary, by a margin of 46.3% to 43.3%, and he's in danger of becoming the first Texas Speaker of the House to lose a primary since 1972.
It's worth noting that before the primary runoff on May 28, there is a May 4 special election for the right to complete the 2024 portion of Whitmire's term in Texas Senate District 15, where Democrats Molly Cook and state Rep. Jarvis Johnson are competing for that distinction and also in the primary runoff later in May. Early voting for the special election, which also includes races for seats on county appraisal boards in Brazoria, Fort Bend, Harris and Montgomery counties, started Monday.
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Early voting for the May 28 runoff is scheduled from May 20-24. The last day to register for the runoff is April 29, and May 17 is the last day to apply for a ballot by mail.
Below is a rundown of the key runoff races in Harris County, which includes Houston, and in some of the other counties in the region:
DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY RUNOFFS
Texas Senate District 15: Jarvis Johnson succeeded former Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner in Texas House District 139, which serves a swath of northwest Houston, and he's looking to accomplish a similar feat by snagging Whitmire's former seat in the state senate. Johnson was the leading vote-getter in a six-candidate race in March, garnering about 36.2% of the vote, while local activist and emergency room nurse Molly Cook was second with about 20.6%. Cook has never held public office but made a run against Whitmire in 2022, receiving about 42% of the vote in that year's Democratic primary. Regardless of who wins the May 4 special election, the May 28 winner between Cook and Johnson will face Republican Joseph L. Trahan in the November general election.
Texas House District 139: Since Johnson is running for a state senate seat, five fellow Democrats ran to succeed him in the Texas House. One of those candidates is Johnson's ex-wife, Charlene Ward Johnson, who placed second in the March 5 primary with 24.1% of the vote. She is now facing runoff opponent Angie Thibodeaux, who led all primary candidates with 33.3% of the vote, and the winner will be unopposed by a Republican in November.
House District 146: State Rep. Shawn Thierry, who first was elected to represent parts of south and southwest Houston in 2016, received blowback from fellow Democrats after voting alongside Republicans in support of legislation viewed as attacks on the LGBTQ+ community, such as a law banning gender-transitioning healthcare for minors and another prohibiting certain books from school libraries. Then she subsequently placed second in the March 5 primary to Lauren Ashley Simmons, who received about 49.4% of the vote compared to 44.5% for Thierry. The runoff winner will face Republican Lance York in November.
486th Criminal District Judge: This court was created last year by the Texas Legislature, in order to help alleviate a case backlog in Harris County, and Republican Aaron Burdette was appointed to the seat by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. Burdette won his Republican primary unopposed and in November will face either Vivian King or Gemayel "G" Haynes, who are looking to turn the seat blue. King has most recently been a top prosecutor for the Harris County District Attorney's Office and led a three-candidate field in the March 5 primary by receiving 49.3% of the vote. Haynes, a public defender, forced a runoff by garnering 31.8% of the vote.
Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector: Incumbent Ann Harris Bennett opted not to run for re-election, which prompted five fellow Democrats to seek her seat. Annette Ramirez led the primary with about 40.6% of the vote, and Desiree Broadnax also made the runoff with 17.5% of the vote. The winner will face former Harris County Commissioner Steve Radack, who ran unopposed in the Republican primary, in November's general election.
The other Democratic primary runoffs on the Harris County ballot are for Precinct 5 Constable, with Jerome Moore and Jerry Rodriguez vying for the right to face incumbent Republican Ted Heap in November; and the race for Place 3 on Texas' 14th Court of Appeals. Challenger Velda Renita Faulkner led incumbent Jerry Zimmerer in the primary, and the May 28 winner will take on Republican Chad Bridges in November.
REPUBLICAN PRIMARY RUNOFFS
Texas House District 21: Speaker of the House Dade Phelan is fighting for his political life after making enemies with both Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, over the House's lack of support for a plan to allow public money to be used for private school tuition, and Attorney General Ken Paxton over his impeachment last year on allegations of bribery and dereliction of duty, among other charges. Phelan ran second in the March primary to fellow conservative David Covey. Because there is no Democratic candidate in District 21, voters in Jasper, Jefferson and Orange counties will decide in late May whether Phelan gets another term or is replaced.
There also are Republican primary runoffs for U.S. Congress in District 7, where Democrat Lizzie Fletcher is the incumbent and general election candidate, and in District 29, where incumbent Democrat Sylvia Garcia was unopposed in her primary. Kenneth Omoruyi was the leading Republican primary candidate in District 7, garnering 40.5% of the vote compared to 26.5% for Caroline Kane. In District 29, Christian V. Garcia received 44.7% of the vote in the Republican primary and is facing Alan Garza, who got 29.1%, in the May 28 runoff.