Political Roundup — May 29, 2024

President

Democratic National Committee to Nominate Biden-Harris Virtually

It appears that the Democrats will, for the first time, nominate their presidential ticket before the delegates even gather for their national convention in late August.

Responding to an Ohio election law that requires political parties to provide official communication of their nominees prior to August 7, Democratic National Committee chairman Jaime Harrison announced yesterday that party delegates will vote in a virtual roll call prior to the August 19-22 party gathering to ensure that President Biden is placed on the Buckeye State ballot.

Ohio Republicans have said they would pass a new law changing the aforementioned deadline, yet Harrison said the Democrats would not wait for their counterparts to act, and instead, "land this plane themselves."

Conducting the vote early will make it even more difficult for insurgent Democrats to make any move to convince the president to step down from receiving the party nomination. Therefore, we can expect President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris to be renominated prior to August 7, and weeks before Democratic delegates gather in Chicago for their national convention.

Senate

Michigan: Petition Signatures Confirmed

Last week, stories surfaced suggesting that Republican candidates Mike Rogers, a former House member and ex-Intelligence Committee chairman; ex-Rep. Justin Amash; and businessman Sandy Pensler were in danger of not submitting 15,000 valid petition signatures to qualify for the US Senate ballot. However, a report by State Bureau of Elections staff now indicates that the only Senate contender not qualifying from either major political party is Democrat Nasser Beydoun.

In Michigan, the staff send their signature qualification report to the Secretary of State prior to the principal making a final decision. At this point, it appears that all three key Republican candidates will be on the ballot. For the Democrats, the battle apparently will be between US Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Lansing) and actor Hill Harper.

House

TX-12: State Rep. Goldman Wins GOP Runoff

As expected, state Rep. Craig Goldman (R-Ft. Worth) easily defeated real estate developer John O'Shea, securing a 63-37% margin from a low turnout of 26,670 votes.

Rep. Goldman placed first in the March 5 primary, coming within 5.6 percentage points of winning the Republican nomination outright.

First elected to the state House of Representatives in 2012, Goldman rose to a position of Republican Party leadership in the current legislative chamber. He now becomes the prohibitive favorite in the general election to succeed retiring Congresswoman Kay Granger (R-Ft. Worth), who is departing after serving what will be 14 terms in the House.

TX-23: Rep. Gonzales Renominated — Barely

After a nasty campaign, two-term Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-San Antonio) escaped with a close win last night against firearm manufacturer Brandon Herrera in the Texas Republican runoff election.

Rep. Gonzales won with 50.7% of the vote — a margin of just 407 votes out of 29,639 ballots cast.

In the original March 5 Republican primary election, the congressman placed first, with 45.1% of the vote as compared to Herrera's 24.6%.

The closeness of yesterday's contest was not especially surprising, as an incumbent being forced into a runoff generally plays poorly for the office-holder in the secondary election.

Furthermore, last night's result is not the first close call Rep. Gonzales has experienced in the Texas runoff system. In his first election back in 2020, Gonzales won that year's runoff with just 45 votes to spare, before going on to score an upset 51-47% victory over Democrat Gina Ortiz Jones.

The congressman will now be favored to defeat Democratic nominee Santos Limon in the general election.

TX-28: Republicans Nominate Furman

The third important Republican runoff election occurred in southern Texas' 28th District, a seat that stretches from San Antonio all the way to the Mexican border.

In that contest, which saw only 12,683 voters cast ballots, retired Navy officer Jay Furman notched an easy 65-35% win over rancher Lazaro Garza, Jr.

Furman now advances to the general election to challenge embattled Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Laredo), who is facing a federal bribery indictment. Prior to Cuellar's legal situation becoming public, the general election did not appear competitive, but the new developments suggest that the Republican nomination is worth having.

Now attention turns to the GOP apparatus to determine if they will target the district and spend the resources to help Furman score what they hope will be an upset victory on November 5.

Jim Ellis is a 35-year veteran of politics at the state and national levels. He has served ss executive director for two national political action committees, as well as a consultant to the three national Republican Party organizations in DC, the National Federation of Independent Business, and various national conservative groups.

Born and raised in Sacramento, California, he earned a B. A. in Political Science from the University of California at Davis in 1979. Jim raised his daughter, Jacqueline, alone after his wife died following a tragic car accident. He helped establish the Joan Ellis Victims Assistance Network in Rochester, NH. Jim also is a member of the Northern Virginia Football Officials Association, which officiates high school games throughout the region.

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