Texas primary election ballot starting to fill out

Editor’s note: This story has been updated throughout.

As the window for candidates to file for the March 1 primaries closed Monday evening, Democrats had a last-minute surprise as former Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia filed to challenge U.S. Rep. Gene Greenof Houston.

A race between Garcia and Green is likely to be a high-profile contest in what is expected to be a feisty primary season in Texas, topped with more than 20 presidential contenders.

Thirteen Republicans and eight Democrats had filed for president in Texas as of late Monday afternoon. The Republicans included Texas’ own U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, and Jeb Bush, former Florida Governor and father of Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush. Others on the G.O.P. ballot include billionaire Donald Trump, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson and U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida and Rand Paul of Kentucky.

Assuming he doesn’t make any late changes to his filing,Trump, who has threatened an independent candidacy, is barred from running a Texas race later as an independent.

Along with Democratic frontrunners Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, the Democrats running include former Maryland Gov.Martin O’Malley, and Keith Judd, a Texas inmate who has run for president every election year since 1996 and drew 41 percent of the vote in the West Virginia Democratic primary against President Obama in 2012.

Two members of the all-Republican Texas Supreme Court are facing primary challenges.Houston appeals court Judge Michael Massengale is challengingJusticeDebra Lehrmann. And in a race that is likely to cause some voter confusion, former state Rep. Rick Green is challenging Justice Paul Green.

Court of Criminal Appeals JudgeLawrence Meyers, who became the first Democrat to hold statewide office in well over a decade afterdefecting from the Republican Partyin 2013, also filed for re-election Monday. Although Meyers said his campaign would “run real hard,” he said low voter turnout may impact his ability to snag a statewide office as a Democrat. Two Republicans are also vying for the seat: Harris County Criminal Court Judge Mary Lou Keel, Collin County District Judges Chris Oldner and Ray Wheless.

Last week, Railroad Commissioner David Porter said he would not seek re-election. Four Republicans have since announced plans to run for the position, including formerstate Rep.Wayne Christian, R-Center, longtime Austin attorney and lobbyist John Greytok, Gary Gates, a wealthy real estate agent and cattle rancher in Richmond and Cypress engineer Ron Hale.Despite some speculation he may enter the race, former Texas Land CommissionerJerry Patterson said Monday he would not be running for the open seat.

Among Congressional contests, the race to replace retiring U.S. Rep. Randy Neugebauer of Lubbock is set to be among the most crowded on the GOP ballot, with seven candidates having filed as of Monday afternoon. Meanwhile, at least six Democrats had filed for the seat currently held by U.S. Rep. Ruben Hinojosa, D-Edinburg, who announced his retirement last month.

Most of Texas’ incumbents in the U.S. House are running unopposed in their primaries.

U.S. Rep. Kevin Brady, R-The Woodlands, faces three primary challengers, including former state Rep. Steve Toth. At least two veterans are challenging Republican incumbents: Paul Brown is hoping to unseat U.S. Rep. Pete Sessions of Dallas, and Gregg Deeb is challenging U.S. Rep. Blake Farenthold of Corpus Christi. Both are veterans of the U.S. Marine Corps, according to their campaign web sites.

In local elections, several Texas Senate and House races will see rematches:

Former state Rep. Lance Gooden will face off once more against Rep. Stuart Spitzer, who unseated Gooden in 2014 in House District 4.

In House District 58, freshman representative DeWayne Burns will again face construction company owner Philip Eby who he defeated in the 2014 primary.

In the Senate, newly elected Sen. Jos Menndezwill once again run against Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer. In February, Menendez beat Martinez Fischer in a special election runoff to replace Sen. Leticia Van Putte, who resigned to run for mayor of San Antonio.

There will be another rematch of sorts in the Senate as Sen. Carlos Uresti will face off against Helen Madla, the window of Frank Madla, who Uresti unseated in 2006.

RepresentativesBryan Hughes, R-Mineola,andDavid Simpson, R-Longview,have both entered the race for the open Senate Seat in District 1, leaving their House seats up for grabs. Hughes and Simpson will be facing off against two other Republicans for the senate seat vacated by Sen.Kevin Eltife–James”Red” Brown, a major general in the U.S. Army, andMike Lee,a retired Navy Pilot.

In House District 5, four Republican candidates have surfaced to replace Hughes, who was first elected in 2002.Randy Davis,aTexas State Guard officer, businessmanJay Misenheimer,Philip Hayes,a former Senate staffer, andCole Hefner,an insurance salesman and former Upshur county commissioner. Longview MayorJay Dean(R)and businessmanDavid Watts(R)have both filed for Simpson’s seat in District 7. A number of candidates announced that they would not run for re-election towards the end of the legislative session this spring, granting potential candidates upwards of five months to lay the groundwork for their campaigns. Others, including Rep. Elliott Naishtat and Martinez Fischer, made their announcement with only a few days left in the filing period, leaving the future of their seats up in the air.

State Rep. John Otto, R-Dayton announced in July he would not be seeking re-election to the House District 18 seat he has held since 2005. Since his announcement, five Republican candidates have surfaced to fill his seat. Former Huntsville mayor, J. Turner, businessman Ernest Bailes, business attorney Keith Strahan,Liberty County AttorneyWesley Hinch and Van Brookshire, former San Jacinto County Republican Party chairman. In June, Rep. Scott Turner, R-Frisco, announced he would not run for re-election. Five candidates have emerged to fill the District 33 seat the Tea Party-backed candidate has held since 2012. Three Republicans have filed for candidacy, Heath Mayor Lorne Liechty, businessman Justin Holland and Army veteran John Keating. Cristin Padgettand Karen Jacobs are both seeking the Democratic nomination.

After going back and forth about whether he would seek re-election, Naishtat, D-Austin,confirmed last week he would not run again for the seat he first won in 1990. Since his announcement, five Democratic candidates for the House District 49 seat have surfaced including Austin ISD Board President Gina Hinojosa, legislative staffer Huey Fischer, defense attorney Matthew Shrum, personal injury attorney Aspen Dunaway,attorney Blake Rocap and University of Texas law professor Heather Way.

Rep. Jimmie Don Aycock, R-Killeen, announced in June he would not run again for the seat he has held for almost a decade. Since then, both Republican and Democratic candidates have filed to appear on the primary ballot for the House District 54 race. Killeen Mayor Scott Cosper, optometrist Austin Ruiz and Army veteran Larry Smith are vying for the Republican nomination while Lan Carter and Sandra Blankenship will fight for the Democratic nomination.

In August, Rep. Myra Crownover announced she will not seek re-election to the House District 64 seat she has held since 2000. Republicans Rick Hagen, a criminal attorney,Lynn Stucky, a veterinarian, and Read King, a commercial real estate agent have all filed for the seat as well as Democrat Connor Flanagan. Rep. Susan King decided not to run for re-election in September, when she announced that she would enter the race in Senate District 24. Since then, five candidates have surfaced to run for her vacant seat. Five Republicans have filed including Abilene ISD School Board trustee Isaac Castro, attorney Chris Carnohan, Stan Lambert and Stacey Scaief. Democrat Pierce LoPachin has also filed.

Longtime Rep. Ruth Jones McClendon, D-San Antonio, announced in September that she would not be seeking re-election to her seat in House District 120. Five democratic candidates for the seat have emerged – former city councilman Art Hall, Bear County Justice of the Peace Byron Miller, insurance agent Lou Miller, former city councilman Mario Salas and Barbara Gervin-Hawkins.

In June, Sen. Troy Fraser, R-Horseshoe Bay, said he would not seek re-election to his Senate District 24 seat that he has held since 1997. His announcement prompted King to not run for re-election to her House seat and instead consider a Senate run. She filed for the seat on Monday. Five Republican candidates have entered the race for the seat including physician Dawn Buckingham, businessman Jon Cobb, former San Antonio City Councilman Reed Williams, Ryan Downton, president of Little River Health Care and Brent Mayes.

This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at http://www.texastribune.org/2015/12/14/filing-deadline-today/.