September 30, 2020

Inside this edition of Capitol Roundup:

Senate District 30 special election results:  

Drew Springer and Shelley Luther finish in a virtual dead heat as they advance to a runoff election for the North Texas seat.   
  
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Quote of the Week:

"I feel cautiously optimistic, as a scientist, that we will have a safe and effective vaccine. I believe it will happen, and it will happen likely by this end of the calendar year."

-Dr. Anthony Fauci


Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, made the comment Tuesday at the 2020 Texas Tribune Festival.  Though it could be until late 2021 before a COVID-19 vaccine is widely available to the public, Fauci urged people to trust the process and encouraged public officials to help their communities regain confidence in the safety and efficacy of a vaccine. 
Drew Springer and Shelley Luther head to runoff election for state Senate seat in North Texas

In what has been a contentious race leading up to yesterday's special election for the Texas Senate District 30 seat, the top two contenders out of a field of six candidates finished just 89 votes apart and now advance to a runoff election. 

Rep. Drew Springer (R-Muenster) and Shelley Luther (R-Pilot Point), were heavily favored heading into the race, and it was little surprise that they would need a runoff election to decide the winner.  What was surprising was just how close they finished - Springer landed 21,903 votes compared to 21,814 votes for Luther - each good for about 32 percent of the more than 68,000 total votes.  

Jacob Minter, the sole Democrat on the ballot in this heavily Republican district, received roughly 21 percent of the vote. Meanwhile, the three other Republican candidates finished in the single digits. 

Rep. Drew Springer
Gov. Greg Abbott had set this special election on an emergency basis in order to expedite the process to replace outgoing Sen. Pat Fallon (R-Prosper), who is running for an open U.S. Congressional seat this fall.  Abbott has not yet set a date for the runoff election.

If the lead-up to the runoff is anything like the past month heading into Tuesday's election, voters in the North Texas district can expect plenty of mud slinging from both sides.  Since they announced their candidacies, Springer and Luther - the Dallas salon owner who was jailed for disobeying state shutdown orders - have been attacking each other in ads and appearances. 
Shelley Luther

Springer's campaign has made an issue out of Luther not voting in several recent Republican primary elections, while Luther has claimed that Springer hasn't stood for conservative principles during his four terms in the Texas House. 

Senate District 30 is situated primarily in the north and west suburbs of Dallas-Fort Worth, and its voters have heavily favored Republicans in the senate seat for several years.  Fallon, who was first elected to the seat in 2018 when he won with more than 70 percent of the vote, has now endorsed Springer to be his replacement. 

AGC-Texas Building Branch PAC is financially supporting Springer in this election. 

Click here to visit Springer's campaign site.
Click here to visit Luther's campaign site. 

OCTOBER

5 - Final day to register to vote in Texas

13- Early voting begins for Nov. 3 general election

30 - Early voting ends for Nov. 3 general election

NOVEMBER

3 - General Election Day

20 - Board of Directors Meeting (Austin)