Texas Primaries Mark Beginning of 2022 Midterms
Democrats and Republicans in Texas turned out on March 1st to select nominees for office in primary elections. As expected, both Republican incumbent governor Greg Abbott and Democratic challenger Beto O’Rourke won their respective contests outright.
The primaries in Texas provided few surprises as many candidates were running in safely-drawn seats. The only statewide, high-profile race that provided drama was the closely contested race for state attorney general which will pit incumbent Ken Paxton against Bush scion George P. Bush.
What was the voter turnout in the Texas primaries?
INSTRUCTORS: click the link below to download this week’s lecture for use in your classroom. The deck contains a writing prompt and a debate question as well as other assessment questions.
Videos:
News Articles:
Texas primary sets up Abbott-O’Rourke race as midterms begin
Houston Chronicle
3/6/22
https://www.chron.com/politics/article/Texas-primary-sets-up-Abbott-O-Rourke-race-as-16981042.php
Beto O’Rourke preparing an early deployment in race against Greg Abbott, fueled by 56,000 volunteers
Dallas Morning News
3/5/22
State GOP leaders win big in Texas legislative primaries
Texas Tribune
3/2/22
https://www.texastribune.org/2022/03/01/texas-primary-elections-legislature-senate-house/
Results: Texas Primary Election 2022
Texas Monthly
3/3/22
https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/live-texas-primary-election-2022-results/
News Articles (Analyses):
‘Texas is a battleground’: Latino voters torn between GOP and Democrats ahead of midterm elections
USA Today
3/3/22
https://news.yahoo.com/texas-battleground-latino-voters-torn-103506701.html
GOP Response to Biden Lays Out Party Agenda for Midterm Election
Bloomberg
3/1/22
Here’s how Biden’s State of the Union and the Republican response preview the midterm-election fight
MarketWatch
3/2/22
Wave of House Democratic retirements stokes fears for party’s election prospects
The Guardian
3/6/22
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/mar/06/democrats-retirements-election-2022-brenda-lawrence
Assessment:
Writing: Explain why the incumbent president’s party typically loses seats in the Congress. Why will the Democrats have an especially difficult time keeping a majority in the House of Representatives?
Debate: Should Governor Abbott be more concerned about appealing to moderate voters or conservatives who still doubt his bona fides?
Poll: Will Democratic gubernatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke’s comments about guns during his short-lived presidential campaign doom his prospects in Texas?
Short Answer: Describe how low voter turnout in the Texas primary election contributes to the nomination of more ideological and partisan candidates?
QUIZ:
How many Democratic members in the U.S. House of Representatives have announced their retirement?
- 31
- 55
- 100
- 150
Why do some analysts believe that incumbent U.S. Representative Henry Cuellar failed to secure a majority in TX-28?
- Cuellar’s district was redrawn to include Harris County
- Cuellar was dogged by scandal after the FBI raided his office
- Cuellar admitted to an extramarital affair with a former Al-Qaeda operative
- Cuellar switched parties to the Republicans
What conclusion can be reached about the influence of the Texas speaker and lieutenant governor?
- the primaries were a repudiation of their leadership
- the primaries were confirmation of the speaker’s leadership, but a rejection of the lieutenant governor
- the primaries were rejection of the speaker’s leadership, but confirmation of the lieutenant governor
- the primaries further strengthened the speaker and lieutenant governor’s grip in their respective chamber
Governor Greg Abbott is term-limited, and many believe he will launch a run for U.S. Senate. (T/F)
George P. Bush is the from the same political dynasty as George W. and Jeb Bush. (T/F)
Eva Guzman gave up a seat on the Texas Supreme Court in her unsuccessful race for attorney general. (T/F)
