It’s Not Just Local Races to Decide On
Fayette County Voters Will Face a Slew of Other Regional, State Choices on the Ballot
The filing period for candidates in the March primaries closed last Monday. There will be a few contested state and federal elections of interest to Fayette County voters.
District Judge
District Judge Jeff Steinhauser of the 155th District Court filed for re-election in the Republican Primary. No other candidates have filed in either the Republican or Democratic primaries for that office. Pending any write-in candidates, he will be unopposed.
State House District 85
In the race for District 85 State House Representative, incumbent Stan Kitzman will face one challenger in the Republican primary, Dennis “Goose” Geesaman, a retired airline pilot and former city council member and mayor from Flatonia. Two people are running in the Democratic primary for the District 85 seat: Lawrence Brandyburg, who lists his employment as a professor and administrator, and Aaron Westerfield, a financial analyst.
State Senate District 18
State Senator Lois Kolkhorst, who represents Fayette County as part of Senate District 18, is running unopposed in the Republican primary. Erica Gillum, a realtor and former Hempstead mayor and councilmember, is running unopposed in the Democratic primary for the Senate District 18 seat.
U.S. Congress
Recent redistricting for Texas’ congressional delegation placed Fayette County in a new district for U.S. Congress, District 27.
The incumbent, Congressman Michael Cloud of Victoria, will face one challenger in the Republican primary, Chris Hatley, a retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel from Brenham.
Three people are running in the Democratic primary for the District 27 seat in Congress: Tanya Lloyd, a teacher from Lockhart; Wayne Raasch, a teacher from Lissie; and Eustaquio “Stock” Castro-Mendoza, a retired U.S. Navy officer.
Fayette County had been part of U.S. Congressional District 10 prior to the redistricting that took place this summer. The current congressman, Michael McCaul, announced earlier in September that he would not seek re-election. There are 10 candidates running in the Republican primary for that seat.
U.S. Senate
U.S. Senator John Cornyn faces seven challengers in the Republican primary vying for his seat. The front runners include Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and U.S. Congressman Wesley Hunt of Houston. Others in the field include John O. Adefope, Anna Bender, Virgil John Bierschwale, Sara Canady, and Gulrez “Gus” Kahn, Four Democrats are running for their party’s nomination to the Senate seat: Jasmine Crockett, a U.S. House Member from Dallas; Ahmad Hassan, a real estate broker from Katy; and James Talarico, a state representative from Austin.