Candidate Filings

The 2014 primaries looked set to be a snoozefest, until a last-minute deluge of candidate filings on Dec. 9. Yet out of the 21 races on the March 4 ballot in Travis County with a competitive primary, only seven see incumbents fighting for their seats. Statewide, the Democrats saw filing day close with an unexpected boost, as Court of Criminal Appeals Judge Lawrence Meyers announced he was quitting the GOP to run unopposed next November for the State Supreme Court. On the GOP side, the already overloaded bench to take out U.S. Sen. John Cornyn got even more top-heavy as hardcore radical Steve Stockman abandoned his fight to retain his southeast Texas congressional seat and became the incumbent's latest primary challenger.

With almost no action in the legislative races, Democrats will be busy on the county races. Aside from the contentious county judge and Precinct 2 County Commissioner races, Pct. 4 Commissioner Margaret Gómez faces a last-minute filing by Del Valle ISD trustee Darla Wegner, while Municipal Judge Ramey Ko takes on County Treasurer Dolores Ortega Carter.

However, the old saying about gerrymandered Texas rings true: The primaries will count for more than the November election. Below the statewide offices, only four races – House District 50, County Judge, Pct. 2 Commissioner, and Pct. 2 Justice of the Peace – will be contested by both major parties in the general election.

Travis County Ballot, Contested 2014 Primaries

Democrats

Governor: Wendy R. Davis, Reynaldo "Ray" Madrigal

U.S. Senator: David M. Alameel, Michael "Fjet" Fjetland, Harry Kim, Kesha Rogers, Maxey Marie Scherr

U.S. Rep. District 25: Stuart Gourd, Marco Montoya

Commissioner of Agriculture: Hugh Asa Fitzsimons III, Richard "Kinky" Friedman, Jim Hogan

Railroad Commissioner: Steve Brown, Dale Henry   

County Court at Law Judge #3: Paul Evans, John Lipscombe*

County Judge: Andy Brown, Sarah Eckhardt

County Treasurer: Dolores Ortega Carter*, Ramey Ko

County Commissioner Pct. 2: Garry Brown, Richard Jung, Brigid Shea   

County Commissioner Pct. 4: Margaret Gómez*, Darla Wegner

Justice of the Peace Pct. 5: Herb Evans*, James Braxton Forrest

Republicans

Governor: Greg Abbott, Lisa Fritsch, SECEDE Kilgore, Miriam Martinez

U.S. Senator: Curt Cleaver, John Cornyn*, Ken Cope, Chris Mapp, Reid Reasor, Steve Stockman, Dwayne Stovall, Linda Vega   

U.S. Rep. District 21: Matt McCall, Lamar Smith*, Michael J. Smith

Lieutenant Governor: David Dewhurst*, Dan Patrick, Jerry Patterson, Todd Staples

Attorney General: Dan Branch, Ken Paxton, Barry Smitherman

Comptroller: Glenn Hegar, Harvey Hilderbran, Debra Medina, Raul Torres

General Land Office Commissioner: George P. Bush, David Watts

Agriculture Commissioner: J. Allen Carnes, Joe Cotten, Tommy Merritt, Sid Miller, Eric Opiela

Railroad Commissioner: Becky Berger, Malachi Boyuls, Wayne Christian, Ryan Sitton

State Senator, District 25: Donna Campbell, Elisa Chan, Mike Novak

* incumbents