Much of the attention tonight will focus on the Dewhurst v. Cruz senate race. But there are three Texas State Board of Education races on runoff ballots across the state as we wrap up the primaries and look toward November.
Keep an eye on this post later tonight for updates on the SBOE races. Here’s what’s on tap:
District 2 – Democratic Runoff | District Map |
Down in the Valley it’s Ruben Cortez, Brownsville, against Celeste Zepeda Sanchez, San Benito. The winner faces Laurie Turner, who won the May 29 Republican primary over Veronica Anzaldua. The seat is currently held by retiring SBOE member Mary Helen Berlanga, D-Corpus Christi.
District 10 – Republican Runoff | District Map |
In central Texas it will be Tom Maynard of Florence versus Rebecca Osborne of Round Rock. This seat was vacated by Marsha Farney, who decided to run for the state House instead. The winner of tonight’s race will face Judy Jennings, D-Austin, who lost to Farney in 2010.
District 12 – Republican Runoff | District Map |
Geraldine “Tincy” Miller looks to take a step toward regaining the seat she lost to Republican George Clayton in 2010. Miller faces religious-right backed candidate Gail Spurlock. The winner will face Lois Parrott, D-Dallas, in November. Also notable: Clayton, who lost his re-election bid by coming in third behind Miler and Spurlock, has said he intends to run as a write-in candidate in November .
You can find this info and more at tfn.org/educate.
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11:27 — It’s also worth noting that five of nine candidates backed by the religious right went down in defeat this primary season. We’ll have a full wrap tomorrow.
11:25 — It’s over in District 2. Ruben Cortez edges out Celeste Zepeda Sanchez to win the Democratic nomination and will face Republican Laurie Turner. There’s also a Libertarian candidate in that race, Lenard Nelson. A list of all candidates can be found at tfn.org/sboe2012
10:56 — With all precincts reporting, Tom Maynard has taken the Republican runoff in District 10. Maynard will face Judy Jenning, D-Austin, in November.
10:33 — Still lots of precincts out in District 10 and Maynard is up by only 184 votes.
10:27 — District 2 is coming down to the wire. Cortez leads by only 444 votes. Three precincts still to be counted.
9:31 — We give up. The District 10 race has now swung back to Osborne.
9:22 — Great! More results are in and they show Maynard up once again over Osborne in District 10.
9:16 — Everything has ground to a halt. It remains tight in districts 2 and 10, and Miller has won in 12. So basically nothing’s changed in a while.
8:46 — In the Valley, Cortez’s lead is down to 5 points. We might be up late on that one, too.
8:42 — And Rebecca Osborne is now ahead. Get comfortable, this one will keep us up late.
8:35 — Miller will face Democrat Lois Parrott in November. It’s also worth noting that current District 12 board member George Clayton, who beat Miller in the 2010 general election only to lose to Miller and Spurlock in May’s Republican primary, has said he will run as a write-in candidate.
8:32 — They AP has called it for “Tincy” Miller.
8:26 — Looks like it might go down to the wire in the Osborne-Maynard race with both candidates hovering around 50%
8:19 — Second non-SBOE update: Warren Chisum loses his race for the Railroad Commission. Chisum gained infamy for trying to discredit evolutionary science with this.
8:16 — Small correction: Cortez is up by 9 points, not 13.
8:14 — Results from Nueces County are starting to come in and Cortez is still up by 13 points.
8:10 — We’ve gone 30 minutes+ without any new numbers in District 12 (Miller v. Spurlock)
8:01 — Looks like Osborn and Maynard will be within a percentage point of each other for a while (19 of 394 precincts reporting)
7:58 — Non-SBOE update: Sid Miller, author of Texas’ sonogram law, is losing. Story here.
7:44 — Maynard now leads Osborne by 300+ votes. Again, this is only early voting reporting.
7:39 — Zepeda Sanchez has picked up some ground. And, her home county (Nueces) has yet to report day-of vote totals. Retiring board member Mary Helen Berlanga is from the same hometown and has endorsed Zepeda Sanchez.
7:36 — Quick reminder: These are all very early result. In District 12, for example, all we thus far is the early vote.
7:30 — Miller and Cortez comfortably ahead. Osborne’s lead has shrunk just a tad.
7:25 — Looks like “Tincy” Miller easily won the early vote over Gail Spurlock. Can the lead hold? Elsewhere, in CenTex, it’s Rebecca Osborne with a 5-point lead on Maynard.
7:20 — We have initial results from the Valley. Cortez up 62-38 over Zepeda Sanchez
7:00 — Polls closed everywhere except in west Texas, but that doesn’t matter for SBOE purposes. All of the state board action is in the Valley, Dallas and central Texas
It appears that a majority was unwilling to buy into the notion that the Pilgrims were communists. I guess the frightening thing might be the number of individuals that did and cast their ballot that way.