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Governor contest tops list for March 4 primary elections in Texas
March 4 is primary elections day in Texas, and it's a voting day that has earned national attention for the trends it represents in the Republican party.
The biggest race is for governor, where Wendy Davis will likely blaze as the Democrat candidate and Attorney General Greg Abbott will bag the slot as the Republican candidate, followed by the race for U.S. Senator, which has drawn eight Republican candidates, including incumbent John Cornyn and five Democrats.
In Dallas, Rep. Pete Session of the 32nd Congressional District is being contested by Katrina Pierson, a Tea Party candidate unafraid to cite an endorsement by Sarah Palin.
Other races include lieutenant governor, comptroller, attorney general, land commissioner, railroad commissioner and agriculture commissioner.
The lieutenant governor race has four candidates, including incumbent David Dewhurst (who was jeered in August 2013 after he called the Allen police department to try and pull strings for a relative who had been arrested), plus Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples, Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson and State Sen. Dan Patrick. The latter recently set Twitter abuzz when he accidentally tweeted what seemed to be an endorsement of gay marriage.
In Texas, only the Democratic and Republican parties hold primary elections. Others, including the Libertarian and Green parties, nominate candidates at their conventions.
Polls opened four hours late in Austin, due to bad weather. Meanwhile, Texas recently implemented new voter ID requirements. You must be a registered voter and present one of the following forms of photo ID:
- Texas driver's license issued by the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS)
- Texas Election Identification Certificate issued by DPS
- Texas personal identification card issued by DPS
- Texas concealed handgun license issued by DPS
- United States military identification card containing your photograph
- United States citizenship certificate containing your photograph
- United States passport
If you show up to vote without a photo ID, you'll be given a chance to go home and get it. Polls are open until 7 pm, and you can find your polling place online.
