DEMOCRATIC PARTY

Presidential candidates

Statewide candidates

  • Railroad commissioner: Lon Burnam, Cody Garrett, Grady Yarbrough
  • Justice, Supreme Court, Place 3: Mike Westergren
  • Justice, Supreme Court, Place 5: Dori Contreras Garza
  • Justice, Supreme Court, Place 9: Savannah Robinson
  • Judge, Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 2: Lawrence “Larry” Meyers (Incumbent)
  • Judge, Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 5: Betsy Johnson
  • Judge, Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 6: Robert E. Burns

County & district candidates

  • U.S. Representative, District 31: Mike Clark

  • State Board of Education, District 10: Judy Jennings

  • County Commissioner, Precinct 3: Anthony Rector

  • Williamson County Democratic Party Chairman: John H. Bucy III

Democratic Party referendums The Texas Democratic Party has six referendums on the primary ballot.

Referenda Item 1 Related to an economic security and prosperity plan for families including raising the minimum wage and passing the Paycheck Fairness Act

Referenda Item 2 Related to fair criminal justice system reform legislation

Referenda Item 3 Related to climate change policy, including encouraging transitions to renewable energy

Referenda Item 4 Related to passing a new Voting Rights Advancement Act

Referenda Item 5 Related to allowing each public higher education institution—not only private universities—to opt out of campus carry of concealed firearms

Referenda Item 6 Related to comprehensive immigration reform, including an earned path to citizenship for law-abiding immigrants and their children

To see the complete referenda ballot language, visit www.txdemocrats.org.

REPUBLICAN PARTY

Presidential candidates 

Statewide candidates

  • Railroad commissioner: Lance N. Christian, Wayne Christian, Gary Gates, John Greytok, Ron Hale, Doug Jeffrey, Weston Martinez
  • Justice, Supreme Court, Place 3: Debra Lehrmann (Incumbent), Michael Massengale
  • Justice, Supreme Court, Place 5: Paul Green (Incumbent), Rick Green
  • Justice, Supreme Court, Place 9: Eve Guzman (Incumbent), Joe Pool
  • Judge, Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 2: Mary Lou Keel, Chris Oldner, Ray Wheless
  • Judge, Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 5: Sid Harle, Steve Smith, Scott Walker, Brent Webster
  • Judge, Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 6: Richard Davis, Michael E. Keasler (Incumbent)

County & District Candidates

  • U.S. Representative, District 31: John Carter (Incumbent), Mike Sweeney

  • State Board of Education, District 10: Tom Maynard (Incumbent)

  • State Representative, District 52: Larry Gonzales (Incumbent)

  • State Representative, District 20: Marsha Farney (Incumbent), Terry Wilson

  • Justice, Third Court of Appeals, Place 2: Cindy Olson Bourland (Incumbent)

  • Justice, Third Court of Appeals, Place 4: Melissa Goodwin (Incumbent)

  • Judge, 26th District Court: Donna King (Incumbent)

  • Judge, 395th District Court: Terence Davis, Ryan Larson

  • Judge, 425th District Court: Betsy F. Lambeth (Incumbent)

  • District Attorney: Shawn Dick, Jana Duty (Incumbent)

  • County Court at Law Judge No. 2: Laura Barker, Lesli Fitzpatrick, Brandy Hallford, Warren Oliver Waterman

  • County Attorney: Dee Hobbs (Incumbent)

  • Sheriff: Robert Chody, Mike Cowie, Randy Elliston, Bill Kelberlau, Tony Trumps**

  • County Tax Assessor-Collector: Larry Gaddes

  • County Commissioner, Precinct 3: Valerie Covey (Incumbent), Matt Heaton

  • Constable, Precinct 3: Kevin Stofle (Incumbent)

  • Williamson County Republican Party Chairman: Bill Fairbrother (Incumbent)

The candidates listed in this guide will be on the 2016 primary election ballot in the communities defined by Community Impact Newspaper’s Georgetown coverage area. Only contested races are listed. OR All races  including uncontested races are listed. Candidates with silhouette photos were not able to be reached before press time. Official campaign websites could not be found for certain presidential candidates.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS 

Q. What is the primary election? A. In Texas both the Democratic and Republican parties hold a primary election to determine which candidate should represent each party in the general election. Both parties use the primary election results to determine how many delegates to assign to each of their respective party’s presidential candidates. The delegates then vote at conventions to decide their party’s nomination. There are 155 Republican delegates and 252 Democratic delegates at stake. Q. Can I vote in both the Republican and Democratic primaries in the same year? A. No. In Texas, voters can participate in the primary election by voting Democrat or Republican, but not both. Q. Will I vote at the same polling location for the March primary and the November election? A. Not necessarily. The number of voters is typically lower for the primary election, so the elections office may consolidate precincts to fewer polling locations. Q. Who is eligible for a mail-in ballot? A. You may request a ballot by mail if you will be out of the county on election day and during early voting, if you are sick or disabled, if you are age 65 or older on election day, or if you are incarcerated. Q. Can I vote for Libertarian or third-party candidates in the primary election? A. No, the Republican and Democratic parties are the only ones who hold primary elections. Other parties select their candidates through other processes. Q. What is the role of a county’s political party chair?  A. Political party chairs at the county level are responsible for much of the groundwork each election season. They assist with primary elections, organize voter drive campaigns, work with party candidates and recruit volunteers and precinct chairs.

POLITICAL JOB DESCRIPTIONS 

U.S. House of Representatives Texas’ 36 representatives in the U.S. House serve two-year terms with no term limits. Texas Senate The Texas Senate is made up of 31 single-member districts. Senators serve four-year terms with no term limits. Texas House The Texas House is made up of 150 members representing districts of approximately 179,700 people each, according to 2014 census data. Representatives serve two-year terms with no term limits. Railroad commissioner Three commissioners are each elected to six-year terms. Despite its name, the commission no longer oversees railroads. The commission sets policies and regulations for the exploration and production of oil and natural gas and manages gas utilities. Supreme Court of Texas Nine justices, including a chief justice, are each elected to six-year terms. The Supreme Court of Texas is the highest court for civil litigation statewide. Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Nine justices, including a presiding judge, are each elected to six-year terms. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals hears cases appealed from trial courts and cases that are punishable by the death penalty. The court also has the authority to grant habeas corpus to defendants found guilty of felony crimes. Sources: www.govtrack.us, www.ballotpedia.org, www.rrc.texas.gov, http://quickfacts.census.gov, www.txcourts.gov, www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us, www.texasgop.org, www.txdemocrats.org and www.sos.state.tx.us