2018 Texas's 27th congressional district special election
A special election for Texas's 27th congressional district was held on June 30, 2018, following the resignation of Rep. Blake Farenthold.[1] Republican Michael Cloud won with about 54.7% of the vote, crossing the 50% threshold needed to avoid a runoff.[2] Running again against Eric Holguin in the general election, he won a full term.
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Texas's 27th congressional district | |||||||||||||||||
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Background
The district is reliably Republican; President Donald Trump carried it by a more-than-20-point margin in 2016.
Rep. Blake Farenthold resigned on April 6, 2018 due to allegations of sexual harassment, therefore a special election was needed in order to fill this seat until the 2018 midterms. Consequently on April 23, 2018, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton approved of Governor Greg Abbott's plan to call a special election.[3]
Michael Cloud won this election, and got to serve the remainder of Farenthold's term in the 115th Congress, until January 2019. He previously won the Republican runoff for the same seat, so he appeared on the November ballot where he went on to win the general election.
Candidates
Declared
- Michael Cloud, former Victoria County Republican Party chairman[4]
- Marty Perez[4]
Declared
- Daniel Tinus[4]
Endorsements
- State officials
Texas Governor Greg Abbott[6]
- Individuals
Bech Bruun, suspended his campaign for the seat[7]
- Organizations
Notes
- Bech Bruun (R) suspended his campaign, but remained on the ballot.[5]
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Michael Cloud | 19,872 | 54.8 | |
| Democratic | Eric Holguin | 11,599 | 32.0 | |
| Democratic | Raul (Roy) Barrera | 1,748 | 4.8 | |
| Republican | Bech Bruun (withdrawn) | 1,571 | 4.3 | |
| Democratic | Mike Westergren | 858 | 2.4 | |
| Republican | Marty Perez | 276 | 0.8 | |
| Independent | Judith Cutright | 172 | 0.5 | |
| Libertarian | Daniel Tinus | 144 | 0.4 | |
| Independent | Christopher Suprun | 51 | 0.1 | |
| Total votes | 36,268 | 100.0 | ||
| Republican hold | ||||
References
- Moritz, John (April 24, 2018). "Special election for Blake Farenthold's seat set for June 30". Corpus Christi Caller-Times. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
- "2018 Special Election, US Representative, District 27". Texas Secretary of State. Archived from the original on July 1, 2018. Retrieved June 30, 2018.
- Svitek, Patrick (April 23, 2018). "Texas AG Paxton gives Abbott green light on sped-up special election for Farenthold seat". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved July 6, 2018.
- "Candidates for US Representative, Congressional District 27 Special Election". Texas Secretary of State. Archived from the original on May 1, 2018. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
- Cruz-Aedo, Jared (May 23, 2010). "Bech Bruun not campaigning in District 27 special election". KIII.
- "Governor Abbott endorses Michael Cloud". Greg Abbott official site. Retrieved June 30, 2018.
- Dearman, Elanor (May 30, 2018). "Republican Bech Bruun endorses Michael Cloud in Texas' 27th Congressional District race". Corpus Christi Caller-Times.
- "Tea Party Express Endorses Michael Cloud for U.S. Congress in Texas". Tea Party Express.
- "2018 Special Election, US Representative, District 27". Texas Secretary of State. Retrieved June 30, 2018.
External links
- Official campaign websites