Texas is the first state in the country to hold their primaries. And those primaries are today, with the polls open at 7am.
Locally there are a few big races to keep your eyes on according to UH political scientist Brandon Rottinghaus, including the one involving State Representative Sarah Davis.
“She has a challenge from a candidate backed by the Governor that is coming from the right. So that race is one to watch,” Rottinghaus said, adding that the race to replace the retiring Congressman Ted Poe is another one he is interested in.
On the statewide level, Republican strategist Matt Mackowiak says pay attention to the Democratic race for Governor that includes Andrew White and Lupe Valdez.
“It’ll be interesting to see which of the candVOTEidates for Governor get into the runoff and whether one of those candidates is in a stronger position or not,” Mackowiak explained, adding that the primary for Land Commissioner and Agriculture Commissioner have also been very tight battles.
One tactic state Republicans have taken this campaign season is to warm up to President Donald Trump. Rottinghaus says it's a good move to make.
“In a Republican primary, especially with a President as popular as Trump is with Republicans, talking nicely about Trump and associating yourself with him and his positions is definitely a winnable argument,” Rottinghaus stated.
The other thing to watch today is voter turnout. Fort Bend County Elections Administrator John Oldham told KTRH that’s going to be simply too tough to predict.
“We really don’t know. It was an oddly quiet election. Not just here, but a lot of my colleagues around the state reported the same thing,” Oldham explained.
But one thing he did notice was an increased amount of activity from Democrats in the county during early voting.
“Republicans were up slightly. Democrat turnout almost tripled. That’s where we saw the big increase,” Oldham said.
In Fort Bend County, voters can cast their ballot at any polling location. But that is not the case in Harris County, where you have to vote at your designated spot.
Don’t forget to bring your I-D, and the polls are open until 7pm.