March 5 resulted in more than 2.6 million ballots being cast (1.8 million in the Republican primary and 830,000 in the Democratic primary). This number, although significant, is about 200,000 fewer than the number of Texans who voted in 2020 and a small percentage of the 17.9 million Texans who are currently registered to vote.
As expected, President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump easily won their respective races setting up a much-anticipated rematch four years in the making. Former Congressman Colin Alred won the Democrat nod and will face off against sitting Texas U.S. Senator Ted Cruz.
All 38 Texas congressional seats were up for election, but in most, the incumbent ran either unopposed or easily won re-election. Only two resulted in runoffs. The first is the seat, which runs from San Antonio to El Paso, where Republican incumbent Tony Gonzales is facing a run-off. The other is an open seat to replace U.S. Rep. Kay Granger, which is anchored in Fort Worth.
For the 31-member Texas Senate, 15 seats are up for election in 2024, but as noted in the congressional section, most of the incumbents ran without opposition in the primary. There were two open seats — one Democratic seat to replace Houston mayor John Whitmire and one Republican seat in North Texas. TADA, through AutoPAC, is supporting candidates in each of these races. For the other 13 seats, we expect the incumbents to win re-election and Lt. Governor Dan Patrick is preparing to lead the Texas Senate next session as the presiding officer.
Most of the action this election year is in the Texas House. Nine House Republican incumbents outright lost, while eight others were forced into runoffs, including House Speaker Dade Phelan.
In many of these state and federal races, TADA made the decision to financially support the incumbents — often referred to in political circles as the “friendly incumbent” rule. Our decisions are based upon the working relationship we have with these elected officials and their work on issues impacting dealers in the Texas Legislature and Congress.
Additionally, most of these elected officials have a strong personal relationship with their local dealers. We consider this to be a critically important factor for the success of our political efforts as an Association.
If your elected official is in a runoff election, I want to strongly encourage you to take the opportunity to go vote. I would also ask that you encourage your employees and vendors to vote as well. A number of these elections were determined by a handful of votes in the first round, and it is expected that turnout for the runoffs will be sparse so that the races could be tight. The criteria on who is eligible to vote in the runoffs are as follows: If you voted in the primary, you are eligible to vote in the runoff in the same party elections. If you didn’t vote on March 5, you are eligible to vote in either runoff as long as you are registered to vote. Early voting begins on May 20 and ends on May 24. The runoff election will be held on May 28, the day after Memorial Day.
If you live in an area with a newly nominated candidate at either the state or federal level following the primary, I want to encourage you to reach out and get to know your likely new member. Because of the redistricting process, nearly every legislative district in Texas strongly favors one party over the other, so the candidates elected in March and the ones that prevail in May are very likely going to represent you in Austin and Washington, D.C., in 2025.
You don’t need to reach out about any specific issue(s). We encourage you to simply carry the great stories that only franchised dealers can tell. Amongst the points is the fact that there are more than 1,400 dealerships in Texas, and dealers can be found in nearly 300 Texas towns and cities.
Dealers work on behalf of their customers to ensure marketplace competition and serve as advocates on vehicle warranty and recall issues with the manufacturer. Dealers keep Texans on the road and able to meet the demands of daily life — and in doing so, you assist them in earning a living and caring for their families. Dealers generate significant tax revenue for the state and local units of government. Dealers employ lots of people locally with good-paying jobs. Finally, dealers are an active part of their communities and are an integral part of the success of many great projects and causes.
TADA asks for your personal engagement in getting to know your elected officials. This is a critical part of our past, present and future successes in the legislature and on the legal and regulatory fronts as well.
Thank you for all your work to keep Texas moving forward!
