Bexar County will be getting a new District Attorney, as Nico LaHood was clobbered in Tuesday's primary election by former law partner Joe Gonzales, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
"Voters were influenced by one million dollars worth of lies," LaHood said after his defeat, referring to money donated to the Gonzalez campaign by a super PAC funded by billionaire George Soros.
The campaign was one of the nastiest seen in Bexar County in years, with Gonzalez labeling LaHood a 'bigot' for his opposition to 'sanctuary cities,' and LaHood comparing Gonzales to Harvey Weinstein for his office's legal defense of child molesters. Gonzales and LaHood used to be law partners.
In another big local race, State Rep. Lyle Larson easily turned aside a challenge not only from Hollywood Park Mayor Chris Fails, but also from Governor Abbott, who backed Fails in an effort to remove key state lawmakers who disagree with his social conservative agenda.
Rice University political analyst Mark Jones says there was a lot riding on the Larson-Fails race for top Texas Republicans.
"Where does the balance of power lie between the Tea Party wing of the party, and the centrist conservative wing."
In fact, Abbott lost two of the three races where he had attempted to remove a lawmakers he considers to be less than supportive of his agenda. Houston Republican Sarah Davis also prevailed.
Abbott did win one race, defeating a man who listed himself on the primary ballot as 'SECEDE.' Abbott is a heavy favorite over both former Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez and Houston investor Andrew White, who will been in a May runoff for the Democratic nomination.
Ted Cruz and El Paso Congressman Beto O'Rourke will meet in November, and Matthew Wilson, a political analyst at SMU, says that is a race Republicans need to take seriously.
"They won't say this officially, but Democrats are conceding the Governor's race, and they are focusing their money, and their time, and their aspirations on the Senate race," Wilson said.
George P. Bush overcame strong opposition to his plans to 'Re-Imagine' Alamo Plaza and defeated former Commissioner Jerry Patterson in the Land Commissioner's race. Controversial Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller also won renomination without a runoff.I
n local races, Iraq War veteran Gina Ortiz Jones is leading the Democratic field for the right to take on Republican Congressman Will Hurd in the November election.
Despite all the talk of a 'Democratic wave,' as it turns out, nearly a half million more Republicans than Democrats voted in yesterday's primary.
In the race for the seat vacated by retiring Congressman Lamar Smith, Boerne businessman Matt McCall and Cruz staffer Chip Roy, who was heavily endorsed by Cruz, will meet in the Republican runoff. Mary Street Wilson and Joseph Kopser will meet in the Democratic runoff in an election Democrats have hopes of stealing from the Republicans.
And the Uresti name has apparently become political poison in San Antonio. State Representative Tomas Uresti, brother of convicted swindler Carlos Uresti, but who is in no way connected to his brother's problems, lost his south side House seat to Leo Pacheco in the Democratic primary.