2 North Texas congressional campaigns quickly gear up for July 31 runoff

By Anna M. Tinsley

atinsley@star-telegram.com

There was no rest Wednesday.

Not for local congressional candidates whose races were left unsettled in Texas' primaries, anyway.

Candidates in two local congressional district races -- the newly drawn 33rd and the drastically revamped 25th -- face a renewed battle and a two-month window to get the word out about their campaigns before the July 31 runoff.

"There's 60 days to go," said former Texas Secretary of State Roger Williams, a Weatherford car dealer who moved to Austin and made the Republican runoff for the 25th District along with Gatesville Tea Party leader Wes Riddle. "It's going to be a fun summer for people who like baseball and politics."

Races for the 25th District, which stretches from Burleson to Austin, and the 33rd District, which stretches from Fort Worth to Dallas, are among those that will be on the runoff ballot.

33rd District

The 33rd Congressional District is one of four new districts that Texas picked up because of population growth.

It's drawn to give minority voters a chance to elect the candidate of their choice to represent them.

While more Dallas County residents live in the district than Tarrant County residents, more registered voters are in Tarrant.

And more black voters -- a pillar of the Democratic Party -- are in Tarrant, while more Hispanic voters are in Dallas County, political observers say.

Districtwide, state Rep. Marc Veasey of Fort Worth led an 11-way race with 6,938 votes, or 36.8 percent, and former state Rep. Domingo Garcia of Dallas was second with 4,714, or 25 percent, according to complete but unofficial returns from the Texas secretary of state's office.

"I feel confident that I'll be able to build a coalition in both counties," Veasey said.

"I won't take anything for granted. I certainly feel good and hope that the voters in the district like my message ... and see I'm a strong fighter for the Democratic Party."

He said he will reach out to voters throughout the district, particularly in areas where he hasn't been able to meet many voters.

"I will go to Dallas County and continue to try to make new friends," he said.

While he and others recognize that July 31 can be a tough time for a runoff -- as children are out of school and many families may leave town for vacations -- he said he will work hard to overcome those challenges.

"It's not the traditional time to vote," Veasey said. "There definitely will be some work involved. There's no doubt about that. But I'm looking forward to getting out there and continuing to get to know people."

Fort Worth Councilwoman Kathleen Hicks came in third with 2,368 votes, or 12.6 percent and Dallas dental magnate David Alameel followed with 10.9 percent. The other seven candidates each received less than 5 percent, records show.

A review of the votes shows that 11,818 votes were cast in Tarrant County, with 5,739 for Veasey, 1,900 for Hicks and 1,622 for Garcia.

In Dallas County, 7,043 votes were cast, including 3,092 for Garcia and 1,199 for Veasey.

"I want to continue to preach our message about unifying and creating coalitions," Garcia said. "I'm the candidate with the most experience and best qualifications to get results in Tarrant County.

"Sixty-three percent of the voters didn't vote for Mr. Veasey. That gives me a large opportunity to reach those voters and show them I'm a viable alternative."

He said he plans to focus on his grassroots effort, door-to-door outreach and community meetings.

25th District

Last year's redistricting flipped the district so much from Democratic-leaning to Republican-leaning that the incumbent, U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, switched to District 35 for his re-election bid.

Most of the revamped district's population, about 240,000 voters, is in the Austin area, but it also includes 150,000 residents in Johnson County and around 7,000 in Tarrant County.

Williams led the 12-way Republican race Tuesday but was unable to avoid a runoff.

He drew 12,888 votes, or 25.1 percent, to Riddle's 7,477, or 14.6 percent.

None of the other 10 Republicans in the race received more than 12 percent.

Former Texas Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams of Arlington, who drew 5,387 votes, or 10.5 percent, posted on Facebook: "It's been a fabulous run. Thank you Texas. Congrats to @RogerWilliamsTx and @WesleyARiddle."

In Tarrant County's part of the district, 335 voters cast ballots, giving 33 percent of their votes to Roger Williams. The other largest percentage, 21, went to executive Dave Garrison.

"When you have 12 candidates, you hope that you are in the runoff," Williams said. "Now, when you have two candidates, you can begin to show a real difference between the candidates."

Williams was up early Wednesday working on his runoff plans.

"It all starts at zero again. We are working to make sure people know what we stand for," he said. "We will cover the district numerous times and continue to get the message out that it's time for regular and real-world experienced people to go to Washington."

Riddle, who could not be reached Wednesday, is a retired Army officer, an educator who taught at West Point and Central Texas College, and a small-business man.

Founder and chairman of the Central Texas Tea Party, he has promised to begin the impeachment process against President Barack Obama the day after he is sworn in, partly because "the State Department is giving away seven strategic, resource-laden Alaskan islands to Russia" and because of "President Obama's abuse of power and blatant disregard to the Constitution."

Anna M. Tinsley, 817-390-7610

Twitter: @annatinsley

Looking for comments?