Polls Close In Texas Primary, With Democrats Hoping To Show Off Big Turnout

Bins of signs are seen in a storage area at the Bexar County Election offices last month in San Antonio.

Eric Gay/AP

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Eric Gay/AP

Bins of signs are seen in a storage area at the Bexar County Election offices last month in San Antonio.

Eric Gay/AP

Updated at 9:24 p.m. ET

Texans cast their votes in primaries Tuesday, the first contests of the 2018 election cycle. But voters in the Lone Star State have been voting for almost two weeks already — and there’s been a big surge in enthusiasm across the board.

Driven by anti-President Trump fervor, in this typically deep red state, there are plenty of positive signs for a once-latent Democratic Party in the state. Early vote turnout for the minority party has surpassed GOP totals — and even bested their 2016 numbers. Democrats have also fielded a record number of candidates in all 36 congressional districts, and there’s the potential to flip maybe three or more seats come November.

The state’s U.S. Senate race is now set, with incumbent GOP Sen. Ted Cruz and Democratic Rep. Beto O’Rourke easily winning their primaries, according to the Associated Press. Cruz still has the edge for re-election, but O’Rourke has been mounting a surprisingly strong campaign and gaining attention.

There are eight open-seat races happening, too — six held by Republicans and two by Democrats who are retiring. The majority of those races will stay in the same party’s hands. But the nominees may not be known in those crowded races until May 22, since a candidate needs to top 50 percent this go-round to avoid a runoff.

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The same is true in what will be some of the most watched races this fall — primaries to see who will face Reps. John Culberson, Pete Sessions and Will Hurd in the three congressional districts held by Republicans but won by Hillary Clinton in 2016. Those Democratic primaries — some of which have turned quite bitter — may go into runoff overtime as well.

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In another race to watch, there’s a political scion with a familiar name — yet another George Bush, this one George P., son of none other than Jeb Bush, the former Florida governor and 2016 presidential candidate. Despite Jeb Bush’s feuds with President Trump, Trump has endorsed George P. Bush for re-election for land commissioner. But Bush is running against a former land commissioner who wants the job back. If a Bush in Texas endorsed by Trump were to lose, that would certainly be news.

Most of the polls in the state closed at 8 p.m. ET, but some areas in the far western part of the state closed at 9 p.m. ET.

Here’s more of what to watch as the returns roll in:

Can Democrats sustain their early vote momentum?

The 11 days of early voting brought some of the best news in decades for Democrats. Not only did they best GOP early voting statewide totals in some key areas like Houston, Dallas and San Antonio, but they also beat their own turnout numbers from the same period in 2016 — a presidential year when more voters typically go to the polls.

Analyses have shown Democrats are getting lower-propensity voters to the polls this time around — ones who may come out to pick their choice for the White House but haven’t previously shown a heavy interest in voting in midterms.

The big question on Tuesday is, can Democrats match the enthusiasm they’ve seen in early vote numbers at the ballot box on Election Day? Democrats and Clinton’s campaign saw a similar early vote surge in some key states in 2016, only to be swamped by Republicans at the polls. So is Democrats’ early vote turnout simply an aberration that will correct itself come Tuesday or is it a bigger harbinger of warning signs to come for Republicans?

Democratic primary battles dial up the heat

Enthusiasm on Democrats’ side has yielded a record number of 111 candidates in all 36 congressional districts for the first time in 25 years. But that cuts another way — some of those crowded primaries have turned particularly nasty in the final stretch, highlighting a Democratic divide between centrists and progressives. The outcomes of these primaries could have consequences for flipping crucial races come November.

There’s possibly no more intriguing race to watch tonight than the Democratic primary in the 7th District for the right to face Culberson, a Republican who represents the Houston suburbs.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee controversially waded into the race a little more than a week ago against progressive activist Laura Moser. The committee, responsible for trying to elect Democratic House members, cited derisive comments she had made about a more rural part of the state when she was a writer living in Washington, D.C.

That was before she moved home to run for Congress. (The committee also cited other controversial language she has used in her writing.) The DCCC’s decision to drop opposition research against Moser drew backlash from many progressive groups, and even Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez said it was an action he wouldn’t have taken.

The DCCC’s maneuvers — the very embodiment of “the establishment” that many voters hate — may have had the opposite of the intended effect and could end up propelling Moser into the May runoff. EMILY’s List-backed attorney Lizzie Pannill Fletcher and nonprofit executive Alex Triantaphyllis are seen as the other contenders to grab runoff slots. The DCCC would prefer either of those candidates over Moser, thinking the chance to oust Culberson in a rapidly changing district might be lost if she is the candidate.

Other Democratic hopefuls to watch

The other two Clinton-won districts — Sessions’ suburban Dallas 32nd District and Hurd’s expansive 23rd District, which runs along the Mexican border from El Paso to San Antonio — both have primaries of note, too.

The Texas Tribune‘s Abby Livingston writes that in the 32nd District, it’s former State Department official and ex-Clinton staffer Ed Meier who has raised the most money and is expected to secure a spot in the May runoff. He could be joined by Brett Shipp, a former journalist who has name recognition in the area; former Obama official Lillian Salerno; or former NFL player Colin Allred, who also served in the Department of Housing and Urban Development under Obama.

In the five-way race to take on Hurd, it’s likely to be former federal prosecutor Jay Hulings or former intelligence officer Gina Ortiz Jones who makes the runoff, per the Tribune, but former Obama agriculture appointee Judy Canales and former high school teacher Rick Treviño, who has tried to seize the progressive mantle, are also worth watching.

Open seat chaos

The seats open because of retirements are all likely to stay in their current party’s hands, but there is some rising interest in the race to replace retiring Republican Rep. Lamar Smith in the San Antonio and Austin suburbs.

There’s a massive 18-way primary happening in the 21st District, and if a far-right candidate wins the nod, Democrats are hopeful they can compete for it in the general election. (They are encouraged by some generic-ballot polling.)

For Republicans, former Ted Cruz chief of staff Chip Roy, former CIA agent William Negley, state Rep. Jason Isaac and former Bexar County GOP Chairman Robert Stovall are seen as having the best chances to advance to a runoff. Former Rep. Quico Canseco, who used to represent the nearby 23rd District, is also running, but he has mounted underwhelming campaigns before and hasn’t raised much money this cycle.

On the Democratic side, tech entrepreneur Joseph Kopser is seen as the front-runner. He has raised the most money (and gotten the endorsement of House Whip Steny Hoyer of Maryland). Kopser has tried to strike a bipartisan tone to attract crossover GOP voters, but some of his other challengers have campaigned on more progressive platforms.

It’s worth watching whether Kopser can avoid a runoff (by getting more than 50 percent) or is forced into a race that could expose more divides within the Democratic Party.

The Bush factor

As member station KUT’s Ben Philpott reported, the last Bush currently holding office in the country — George P. Bush, the grandson of former President George H.W. Bush and nephew of former President George W. Bush — is facing a primary challenge in his race to remain the Texas land commissioner.

And that effort is facing some resistance just over two years after his father, Jeb Bush, succumbed to the challenge from Trump.

For the younger Bush, after winning election in 2014, the “realities of holding office began to sink in,” Philpott writes. “There are questions about how well his office has handled Hurricane Harvey relief. He’s also received bad press over his handling of the Alamo. You know, the one we’re supposed to remember all the time. Those issues brought criticism from some in the party, and motivated Bush’s predecessor, former land commissioner Jerry Patterson, to challenge him in the GOP primary. Patterson had left the office in 2014 in a failed attempt to run for lieutenant governor.”

To help him this time around and possibly avoid a runoff with Patterson, Bush turned to the man who vanquished his father — and he got it. Last week the president tweeted his support, writing, “Texas LC George P. Bush backed me when it wasn’t the politically correct thing to do, and I back him now.”

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North Korean leader holds first direct talks with delegation from rival South

By Anna Fifield  | Washington Post

TOKYO — Reclusive North Korean leader Kim Jong Un hosted a South Korean presidential delegation for “openhearted” talks over dinner in Pyongyang on Monday, according to the North’s state media, the latest surprising development in a burst of diplomacy that both Koreas hope will stave off threats from the United States.

The 34-year-old North Korean leader has not met another head of state — including the presidents of historical allies China and Russia — since he took over the totalitarian country after his father’s death at the end of 2011.

But now, possibly under pressure from U.S.-led sanctions and concerned about President Donald Trump’s unorthodox style, Kim Jong Un is suddenly willing to take the olive branches that South Korea has been offering him.

“This shows how desperate he is,” said Choi Jin-wook, who was head of the South’s Korea Institute for National Unification until last year. “His plan to become a nuclear state has almost become successful, but so what? He can’t eat nukes. So now he’s knocking on South Korea’s door.”

South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Monday sent a 10-member delegation to Pyongyang to begin preparations for an inter-Korean summit, which would be the first in 10 years and the first since Kim Jong Un took over.

This follows a frenzy of visits linked to the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics last month, during which Kim Jong Un sent his younger sister to Seoul to hand-deliver the summit invitation to Moon.

To prepare for the summit, which Seoul hopes will happen quickly, Moon dispatched a delegation led by Chung Eui-yong, his national security adviser, and including Suh Hoon, chief of the South’s National Intelligence Service.

“I plan to hold in-depth discussions on various ways to continue talks between not only the South and the North, but also the North and the United States and the international community,” Chung told reporters before departing Seoul on Monday afternoon.

The delegation met with officials in the afternoon before having dinner with Kim, his wife Ri Sol Ju and his sister, Kim Yo Jong.

The South Korean Blue House did not release contents of the meeting but said it was “reasonable, educated speculation” to think they discussed denuclearization.

The North’s Korean Central News Agency said only that the two sides reached a “satisfactory” agreement.

Chung, who speaks fluent English and regularly talks to his American counterpart, H.R. McMaster, was specifically chosen to lead the delegation because he would be viewed in Washington as a credible and trustworthy messenger, according to people close to the Blue House.

After returning to Seoul on Tuesday and briefing the president, Chung will immediately travel to Washington to tell Trump administration officials about the meeting.

Some other officials in Moon’s inner circle, notably his chief of staff, are viewed with suspicion in Washington because of previous activities considered sympathetic to North Korea and hostile to the United States.

During his meetings in Pyongyang, Chung will almost certainly bring up the issue of denuclearization, the outside world’s most pressing concern, especially since North Korea last year exploded what was widely agreed to be a hydrogen bomb.

But it is far from clear whether North Korea will be willing to discuss this issue even in the vaguest terms. Pyongyang has previously said that its weapons are aimed only at the United States and are not a matter of inter-Korean concern.

But the international sanctions imposed are now approaching an economic blockade, and experts say they are beginning to hurt North Korea.

China said it was “a good thing” that the South Korean delegation had traveled to Pyongyang.

“We look forward to a positive outcome of the meeting,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said Monday during a news briefing, according to the Associated Press. “We hope all sides will bear in mind the larger picture of peninsular peace and stability.”

South Korea’s Moon has been increasingly seeking ways to engage with North Korea, diplomatically or economically, as talk in Washington about military options has grown louder. He has repeatedly said that the United States must not strike North Korea without the approval of South Korea, where half the population lives within Northern artillery range.

Trump, for his part, has vacillated between threatening to “totally destroy” North Korea and seeming open to dialogue.

Trump said Saturday that he “won’t rule out direct talks with Kim Jong Un.”

“Now we’re talking. They, by the way, called up a couple of days ago; they said, ‘We would like to talk,’ ” Trump said during a speech at the Gridiron dinner. “And I said, ‘So would we, but you have to denuke.’ ”

It was not immediately clear what Trump was talking about when he said that the North Koreans had called.

Vice President Mike Pence was set to meet the North Korean delegation at the opening of the Olympics, but the North Korean officials pulled out at the last minute, the White House said.

The White House has also said there were no meetings surrounding the closing ceremonies, when the National Security Council official responsible for Korea, Allison Hooker, traveled to South Korea with Ivanka Trump, the president’s daughter and adviser.

North Korea sent one of its top officials on American affairs to the event, and his schedule in South Korea during the three-day visit remains unknown.”The dialogue we desire is the one designed to discuss and resolve the issues of mutual concern on an equal footing between states.”

While Trump was making his remarks Saturday, North Korea said it would only talk to the United States if it were on an “equal footing,” without any preconditions. The United States has previously insisted that North Korea commit to denuclearization before sitting down to talks.

“It is the consistent and principled position of the DPRK to resolve issues in a diplomatic and peaceful way through dialogue and negotiation,” the North’s state-run Korean Central News Agency reported Saturday, using the abbreviation for the country’s official name.

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