Ian Juarez EDINBURG – Early voting for the Texas primaries began on Feb. 17. Voters will have the chance to vote for the candidate they want to see on the ballot for the general election to be held in November.
The following are the candidates from a few of the key races:
U.S House Congressional District 34
Democratic party: Vicente Gonzalez and Etienne Rosas.
Republican party: Mayra Flores, Eric Flores, Scott Mandel, Luis Buentello, Keith Allen, Jay Nagy and Gregory Kunkle Jr.
U.S House Congressional District 15
Democratic party: Bobby Pulido and Ada Cuellar
Republican party: Monica De La Cruz
Senate
Democratic party: James Talarico and Jasmin Crockett.
Republican party: John Cornyn, Ken Paxton and Wesley Hunt.
Governor
Democratic party: Gina Hinojosa, Bobby Cole and Chris Bell
Republican party: Greg Abott and Pete Chambers
Mark Kaswan, political science professor, said the district 34 race is very competitive, adding that he has seen more advertisements for Eric Flores than for Mayra Flores in recent weeks.
“This is actually a really curious case because Donald Trump has endorsed Eric Flores instead of Mayra Flores, which obviously she’s very upset about,” Kaswan said.
Kaswan said Vicente Gonzalez has a strong advantage in his campaign against Etienne Rosas as he is the incumbent member of Congress and because of his name recognition with the public.
Alvaro Corral, assistant professor of political science, said the district 15 race will also be a close race due to Bobby Pulido’s Tejano music background.
Similarly to the District 34 democratic race, Corral said in comparison with Ada Cuellar, Pulido’s name is more known due to his popularity, which can be an obstacle for her.
“He’s of course very popular as a Tejano music star here in South Texas for many years. Another person in the race is Ada Cuellar and, you know, doesn’t necessarily have the name recognition that someone like a celebrity like Bobby does,” Corral said.
“They’re both seeking to, you know, dislodge the current incumbent Republican Monica de la Cruz. And so, yeah, I mean, I think that’s going to be also another close, potentially close race.”
Kaswan commented on the Republican Senate race and named it the most exciting in the country, calling attention to the tight race between Paxton and Cornyn.
“[John Cornyn] actually upset some of the more conservative Republicans the more people who are let’s call them more on extreme right wing,” Kaswan said.
“Because he supported bipartisan legislation that would place some fairly limited gun control type programs in, in place. And he, he supported that partly in the, in response to the shootings in Uvalde and other shootings that have been happening around this, the country,” Kaswan said.
Kaswan added that Paxton may face some resistance because of his impeachment by the House General Investigating Community in 2023 due to supposed corruption, although Paxton was acquitted at the end of the trail, and his public divorce which is ongoing.
Corral said the governor election will be a tough race for Greg Abbott’s opponents but added that Abbott should worry about his race since it has not being a good year for the Republican brand.
Corral encourages college students to get into the habit of voting as it builds involvement in local communities.
The last day for early voting is Feb. 27 and the Primary Election Day is March 3.
