Democracy Needs You! Texas Needs You!

There are unopposed Republicans. This is a call to action and an urgent need for Democratic challengers!

You can do many things to help save democracy in Texas (even if you’re short on time and money). We must discuss how crucial it is to ensure we have Democrats (preferably progressive Democrats) running in these elections. Republicans in Texas should not at all be running unopposed.

We need to support campaigns and increase voter turnout, but we must have candidates to vote on first.

Yesterday, I made a few posts about the current unopposed seats on Twitter X and Facebook and how there are only 83 days left until the filing deadline. Many people didn’t realize the filing deadline for the November 2024 election was so soon, and some didn’t know there were so many open seats. So, let’s talk about it.

A person can file an announcement as an indication to run with the Secretary of the State. Those are posted and updated here.

However, the “official” filings don’t start until mid-November. There was some confusion regarding what I meant by “hasn’t filed yet.” Someone told me that some people might not file their intentions at all but wait until November to “officially” file with the state. That’s fine and dandy, but if they don’t file their intentions and there isn’t a campaign announcement, everyone will assume there is no challenger for that seat yet.

Aside from the State filings, Patrick Svitek with the Texas Tribune keeps a pretty up-to-date spreadsheet each election of who is running and which seats are unopposed. You can check that out here.

The filing deadline for the 2024 elections is December 11. Why so soon?

Texas has the earliest primary races in the country. For the 2024 elections, it’ll be on March 5, 2024. They do that because they want to discourage turnout and boost incumbents, Republicans are assholes, and they stay in power by curtailing the voting laws in their favor. (Of course, if we flip Texas, we can change that.)

So, to be in the November election, you must win a primary race first. Since the primary is in March, the primary season is technically from December to March, but you better believe plenty of candidates are campaigning right now. If a candidate wants to run for office in the 2024 election, they must file to run by December 11, 2023. That’s 83 days from now.

WE NEED CANDIDATES TO RUN FOR OFFICE - Especially for the State Legislature.

Twelve big counties went blue in the 2020 election. These 12 counties will be absolutely crucial in the 2024 election, and not one Republican seat in these counties should be unopposed. Some seats already have challengers, but we need to talk about the ones still currently unopposed. (The counties are listed alphabetically.)

You can find out which district(s) you are in here.

Bexar County.

Chip Roy currently holds TX21. He does not have an opponent yet. In 2020, he only beat Wendy Davis by 6 points. Although the map has been redrawn, turnout should be high during a presidential election year, and a strong candidate may be able to move the needle here.

The Republican Texas House in Bexar already has a few challengers, and the only seat still currently unopposed is HD122.

Dallas County.

Senator Tan Parker, originally from Pennsylvania, recently voted to acquit the criminal Ken Paxton from impeachment. It was wrong, but he has no spine. No way in a million years should SD12 go unchallenged.

Fort Bend County.

Troy Nehls currently holds TX22. Good lord, have you ever heard this man speak? His Northern accent is so thick it’s like nails on a chalkboard to most Texans’ ears. I’m not sure how he even got elected; sounding like he just walked out of the New York Mafia. (No offense to New Yorkers.) He’s from Wisconsin, but I’m sure he’s never said “y’all” a day in his life. Please, someone run against this man. He was a January 6 enabler and, last I heard, maybe under FBI investigations related to his participation in Trump’s insurrection.

Senator Joan Huffman is almost 70 years old, but it looks like she’s in her 40s. She either has incredible genes or amazing doctors. Regardless, she also recently voted to acquit the criminal Ken Paxton from impeachment. There are a million reasons why SD17 should not go unopposed. Huffman has a career history of bad policy and terrible government.

Fort Bend County is the most diverse county in Texas. There is no reason to have fascist Republicans running the show and making the lives of Fort Bend County residents harder or more oppressive. HD26, HD28, and HD85 are all held by Republicans, who currently do not have challengers. (And 83 days until the filing deadline.)

Harris County.

Brian Babin currently holds TX36, which also encompasses much of East Texas. If you’re familiar with Brian Babin, you may already know he’s the biggest liar in Texas. He randomly makes up conspiracy theories and spreads them on Fox News and social media. He’s also a huge Trump asskisser. TX22 with Troy Nehls also is in Harris County.

Aside from SD17 (Joan Huffman) reaching into Harris County, the king of voter suppression legislation, Paul Bettencourt in SD07, is in Harris County. Bettencourt is one of the most fascist members of the Texas Senate. If he could legally get away with ensuring that only white men were allowed to vote, you better believe Bettencourt would lead that effort. He should not run unopposed.

In the Texas House, the current districts that do not have Democratic challengers include HD126, HD127, HD129, HD130, HD133, and HD150. A few people contacted me last night regarding my social media post about open House seats in Harris County and said they were “considering” running. When they make that decision final, we’ll consider those seats not unopposed. Until then, we need good candidates in those seats.

Hays County.

Chip Roy’s district, TX21, also encompasses Hays County. We all know that Roy is awful. Don’t let him go unopposed.

Senator Donna Campbell in SD25 also voted to acquit the criminal Ken Paxton from impeachment. Campbell is supposed to be a doctor, but she has used her time in office to hurt people with the abortion ban, marijuana prohibition, and a ban on gender-affirming care.

Currently, Carrie Isaac for HD73 does not have a challenger. If you haven’t already seen the video below, make sure you take a deep breath first. After you watch it, you’ll understand why she cannot be unopposed.

Tarrant County.

Kay Granger currently holds TX12. She has been in Congress for about 30 years, and I can’t tell you one good thing she’s done. She should probably retire, but that’s not something congresspeople usually do. She should not go unopposed.

Senator Tan Parker’s district in SD12 also seeps into Tarrant County.

The current unopposed Republican House seats in Tarrant County include HD91, HD93, HD96, HD98, and HD99. This is a pretty big deal, considering the efforts in Tarrant County to make it the Christian Nationalist hub of America. Democrats cannot hand these seats to Republicans. At least make it hard for them.

Travis County.

Chip Roy’s district, TX21, also encompasses parts of Travis County. Aside from that, well-known racist Pete Sessions in TX17’s district oozes into this county, although his district is mostly Central Texas. Millionaire Michael McCaul’s district, TX10, covers portions of Travis County.

Donna Campbell’s district in SD25 has a portion in Travis County.

The only unopposed Republican House district in Travis County is TX19, Ellen Troxclair, who (if you didn’t know) hates poor people and wrote several bills to hurt people living in poverty in the last legislative session.

Williamson County.

Williamson County went blue in 2020. We should expect to see it turn blue again in 2024. Michael McCaul, TX10, Pete Sessions, TX17, and John Carter, TX31 have districts covering Williamson County. They should not be unopposed.

The only unopposed Republican House district in Williamson County is TX20, Terry Wilson. Let’s make sure he isn’t unopposed in 2024.

The other four “big 12 counties,” Cameron, El Paso, Hidalgo, and Webb, do not have unopposed Republican seats.

However, turnout for these counties is still essential. These big 12 counties are a massive factor in the 2024 election, as they have the potential to flip Texas for Biden if each of these counties has a huge turnout. Turnout is everything.

Outside of the Big 12, there are still unopposed seats that need opponents and can flip. Those include:

There are other unopposed seats in East, West, and Central Texas. We have 83 days until the filing deadline. I’ll make sure to put them all on blast.

If you are willing and able to run, now is the time. 2024 is going to be a big year for Texas. People are tired of the GOP’s bullshit, Gen-Z is exhausted, and communities of color are worn out. We can win if we can get people to the polls to vote. But we have to have the candidates for them to vote for in place first. We have 83 days to make that happen.

If you aren’t able and willing to run, but maybe you know someone who would be perfect, encourage them. Point them in the right direction.

What does it take to run for office in Texas?

If you want to run for Congress, you must be at least 25 years old, a U.S. citizen for seven years, and live in Texas.

If you want to run for the Texas State Senate, you have to be 26 by the time of the first day of your term (January 2025), you must be a U.S. citizen, you must have lived in Texas for five years, and in the district you’re running for twelve months.

If you want to run for the Texas State House, you must be 21 years old, a U.S. citizen, a Texas resident for two years, and a resident of the district you’re running in for twelve months.

Run where you feel you can make the most significant impact, but you can make the most changes for your community in the Texas Legislature. And if we can flip the Texas House, we can completely shut down the GOP’s agenda until 2026, when we can flip the Senate.

Here are resources to help you get started:

• The Texas Democratic Party’s new program for training and candidate resources - Lone Star Rising.

• If you’re young and progressive (I love you), but also Run For Something will help you with all stages of your campaign.

• If you’re considering running in a red or rural district, Blue Horizons Texas will help you every step of the way.

• If you’re a member of the LGBTQ community, make sure to reach out to the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund.

• Are you a woman? You can get help running for office from Emily’s List.

• And as soon as possible, contact your County Party to get them on board with your campaign.

Even if running for office isn’t something for you, share this because perhaps someone you know was considering this. We can flip Texas, but it will take all of us. Voter turnout is the most important thing, but we have to have the candidates for voters to vote for in the first place.

If you are considering running or know someone who is and needs more information on open seats or how to get started, feel free to contact me. I’d be glad to help.