Updated March 2 at 8:10 a.m. Cypress resident Tawana Cadien narrowly won the Democratic primary election for the U.S. Representative District 10 seat and will go one to face incumbent U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Austin, in the November general election. Cadien received 22,613 votes, or 51.9 percent, of the total 43,533 votes from the nine counties in District 10. Opponent Scot Gallaher of Katy received 20,920, or 48.1 percent, of the vote. All results are unofficial until canvassed. On election night, Cadien said it was an historic day, and she wants to continue to make sure the election process is accessible to everyone. She previously ran against McCaul in 2012 and 2014. In her experience as a nurse and caring for her sick mother in the last two months, she said she has become aware of issues affecting people, including patients and nurses, who need advocates. "My career has been about attending the needs of all people," she said. "That's what [U.S.] representatives across the board must do." Updated March 1 at 11:05 p.m. Only 168 votes separate two Democratic candidates vying to win the March 1 primary election for the U.S. Representative District 10 seat. As of 10:57 p.m. with 107 of 1,394 precincts reporting, Scot Gallaher held onto a narrow lead with 8,240 of 16,312 total votes, or 50.5 percent. Tawana Cadien has 8,072 votes, or 49.5 percent. All results are unofficial until canvassed. “We’re hanging in there,” Gallaher said. “I’m encouraged by the Travis County early vote. It’s the population anchor of the district.” Election day returns have been slowly coming in throughout the state, and both candidates heard voting was still occurring after 7 p.m. “I’m thankful for everybody who has come out to vote today,” Cadien said. “No matter what party you are for, Americans are involved in the voting process.” Gallaher said the results are too close to tell how the race will end, but he is confident in whatever the outcome. “Tawana is a good Democrat so regardless of which one of us wins we’ll band together,” he said. Cadien, who also ran for the District 10 seat in 2012 and 2014, said she opted to run again because she had not seen a change in the district’s representation. “My overall goal is to give the constituents an opportunity to have a representative that hears them,” she said. “It’s not about just [voting] down party lines because it’s a party. We have real people with real issues and real stories.” Updated March 1 at 9:50 p.m. As more election day results begin trickling in, Scot Gallaher is maintaining a narrow lead over Tawana Cadien in the Democratic primary election for U.S. Representative District 10 seat. As of 9:45 p.m. with 45 of 1,394 precincts reporting in district’s nine counties, Gallaher has 7,554 of 14,616 total votes, or 51.7 percent. Cadien has earned 7,062 votes, or 48.3 percent. Results are unofficial until canvassed. In early voting results, Gallaher received 7,105 of 13,655 total early votes cast, and Cadien received 6,550 votes. Posted Feb. 29 Two candidates are hoping to win the Democratic primary election March 1 to face incumbent U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Austin, who has held the seat since 2005. Congressional District 10 covers portions of Northwest, North and West Austin and Pflugerville. The district also encompasses a large portion of the state between Austin and Houston as wall as parts of Katy, Tomball and Cypress outside of Houston. McCaul, an Austin resident, is running uncontested in the Republication primary election. Running in the Democratic primary election are Cypress resident Tawana Cadien and Katy resident Scot Gallaher. Tawana Cadien Tawana Cadien[/caption]

Tawana Cadien

Experience: candidate for U.S. Congress, twice-elected precinct chair; twice-elected National Delegate; voter outreach coordinator; voter registration drive coordinator, public administrator; registered nurse educator; women’s affairs coordinator; president of nonprofit organization, Breast Cancer Awareness outreach spokesperson. www.tawanacadienforcongress.com Top priorities • Education: Teachers and students alike deserve to have adequate resources, support and tools that will allow America to be competitive in the field of education. It is our responsibility to assure that they are equipped. • Health care: Awareness and prevention of disease processes, research and development in the areas of cancer for both pediatrics and adults are imperative. There are representatives who have spent years and even decades in the U.S. Congress and have still not put forth a proposal for a comprehensive healthcare plan. • Safety and security: From the fight against those desiring to do America harm from distance shores, to protecting service men and women on home base and securing children in school, I will propose comprehensive safety and security measures.

Why do you want to hold this office?

It is past time that the citizens of District 10 have representation that really will take their voices and concerns to Capitol Hill. The citizens deserve representation that believes that mothers, daughters, granddaughters, nieces and female neighbors deserve equal pay for equal work. The current representation has voted against that. It is time now for the citizens of District 10 to have representation that will not vote against preventative screening for diseases such as breast cancer and heart disease.

If elected, what is the first thing you intend to do?

I will call a meeting with all of the representatives from the state of Texas and lead a collaboration of Things That Are Important To Texas. It is time that partisanship is put aside for the sake of the people who live in District 10 and the state of Texas. Our children are at the bottom of the list for education. Our citizens are at the top of the list of uninsured. Houston, Texas leads the nation in child sex trafficking. It is time for Texas to stand up and represent the citizens of Texas. I look forward to leading this collaboration.
Scot Gallaher Scot Gallaher[/caption]

Scot Gallaher

Experience: Founder of Share-Age Inc., senior private sector adviser, USAID Jordan; strategy advisor, McKinsey; analyst, 3M; program Manager, Applied Materials; democratic chair for Harris County Precinct 720; section lead for Senate District 17 Democrats; 2012, 2014 Texas Democratic State Convention Delegate www.scotgallaher.com Top priorities • Attracting, retaining and training the best teachers in the world for America’s children • Debt-free public college and alleviating current student debt burdens • Building 21st century infrastructure to put wind at the backs of America’s middle class workers

Why do you want to hold this office?

A bold progressive, I’m focused on bettering the lives of working Texans. The incumbent Republican simply does not represent the interests of the people of Texas and our congressional district. The job of Congress is to invest in the American foundations of education and infrastructure in order to unleash the potential of all Americans not just a privileged few. Congress has failed to their job. I mean to change that reality.

If elected, what is the first thing you intend to do?

Enact tax credits for teachers to dramatically increase their take-home pay, so that we can retain and attract the best teachers for America’s students. Until we return the professional status of teachers, we’ll continue losing good teachers and underperforming global education metrics. Candidates’ responses were edited.