Filing closes Monday in 2018 Primaries
By LPR Staff
Editor/POST-REGISTER
The field is expanding as filing continues for places on the March 6, 2018, Primary Election. Races are beginning to heat up, as candidates seek to change the culture of politics in Caldwell County and beyond.
At the Federal level, incumbent US Representative for District 27, Blake Farenthold (R-Corpus Christi) has announced his plans to seek a third term. As yet, he is unchallenged on his party’s ballot, but could face a November challenge from Corpus Christi Democrat Raul “Roy” Barrera. Barrera, too, was unchallenged on his party’s ticket at press time.
The two originally squared off in the 2016 General Election, which Farenthold won by a wide margin.
Incumbent District 35 Congressman Lloyd Doggett (D-Austin) will seek another term in office, having served Central Texas in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1995.
District 27 and District 35 are at the center of a Federal court case spanning more than six years; as recently as August, Federal judges have ruled that the Districts were improperly drawn and ordered that the boundaries be corrected. The gerrymandering, the Court said, was racially motivated to “intentionally [deprive Hispanic voters] of their opportunity to elect a candidate of their choice” in District 27. In September, the Supreme Court stayed the lower court ruling, pending the hearing and decision on an appeal to the Supreme Court.
Incumbent State Representative John Cyrier (R-Lockhart) does not currently face a challenge in the Primary as he seeks a third term as the State Representative for District 17, having originally earned the position during a 2015 Special Election.
Bastrop Democrat Michelle Ryan is currently uncontested on her party’s ballot to face Cyrier in the November General Election.
Longtime 207th Judicial District Judge Jack Robison will seek another term on the bench.
In the local Republican Party, races are heating up for seats on the Caldwell County Commissioners Court.
At press time, three Republicans, Hoppy Haden and Deward Cummings, both of Lockhart, and Johnny Lee Spriggs, of Luling, will seek the Republican Party nomination for Caldwell County Judge.
Democrat Alfredo Munoz has announced his intention to run, but at press time had not filed for a place on the ballot.
The Precinct 1 Commissioner’s seat, occupied until last month by Haden, prior to his resignation to run for Judge, is also highly sought after.
Terry L. Wright, who was appointed to the position by incumbent County Judge Kenneth Schawe last week, will face B.J. Westmoreland and Lucy Knight in the Republican Party Primary in an effort to retain the seat past the appointment’s expiration on Dec. 31, 2018.
Thom Hanson is currently the only Democrat seeking the seat.
Incumbent Commissioner Edward “Eddie” Moses will seek a second term. He is currently uncontested on the Democratic Party ballot, and no Republican has yet filed for the seat.
Longtime County Commissioner for Precinct 4, Democrat Joe Roland does not yet face a challenge on his party’s ticket for another term at the dais. Republican Jerry West is seeking his party’s nomination.
Democrats Barbara L. Molina and Reagan “Trey” Hicks will square off on the Primary Ballot for Caldwell County Court at Law Judge. The position will be vacated by longtime Judge Ed Jarrett, who announced his intention to retire earlier this year.
Republican Debbie Cortez Sanders will seek the nomination as Caldwell County Clerk. She will likely face the Democratic Party’s Teresa Rodriguez in November. At press time, both candidates were uncontested in their primary races.
Incumbent Republican Justice of the Peace for Precinct One, Matt Keily, faces a challenge from inside his party, with the filing of Republican candidate Suzy Falgout. No Democrat candidate has yet filed for the post.
The retirement of Precinct Two Justice of the Peace Homer Horne has opened the door the filing of Democrat Joe Tetley and Republican Shanna Conley. Both are currently uncontested on their respective parties’ ballots.
Incumbents Ben. E. Brady (R- JP3) and Raymond D. DeLeon (D-JP4) and District Clerk Tina Morgan Freeman (R) are currently uncontested.
Filing for a place on the March 6, 2018, Primary Ballot remains open until Monday, Dec. 11, 2017. The Post-Register will continue to watch the filings and provide complete coverage after the filing deadline.
Editor’s Note: As a matter of standing policy, the Post-Register offers all candidates a one-time, 500 word or less “campaign announcement,” giving the candidate the opportunity to introduce themselves to their community. These announcements must be written by the candidate or one of their supporters, and will be neither drafted nor edited by the staff of the Post-Register, with the exception of corrections for spelling and punctuation, formatting and AP Style. One headshot-style photograph may be included.
These announcements must be received within the newspaper’s general content constraints, meaning they must be accompanied by the name and telephone number of the submittor, and will be reviewed for appropriate content (focusing on issues, rather than personalities). Campaign announcements will be published on a space-available, first-come, first-served basis. If more than one candidate in a race has submitted a campaign announcement and space is not available for all announcements in that race, the announcements will be published together in the next available issue.
The Post-Register began accepting Candidate Announcements in connection with the opening of the filing period on Nov. 11, 2017, and will continue accepting the same until Dec. 11, 2017. Announcements will begin running in the Dec. 14, 2017 edition, and will continue until all announcements have been published, or until the Jan. 18, 2018 edition (six weeks prior to the March 6, 2018 Primary election day).
Editor’s Note: In an earlier version of this report we inadvertently referred to Teresa Rodriguez as “Teresa Ramirez.” We apologize for any confusion this may have caused.
