2018 Texas's 27th congressional district special election

A special election for Texas's 27th congressional district was held on June 30, 2018, following the resignation of Rep. Blake Farenthold.[1] Republican Michael Cloud won with about 54.7% of the vote, crossing the 50% threshold needed to avoid a runoff.[2] Running again against Eric Holguin in the general election, he won a full term.

2018 Texas's 27th congressional district special election

← 2016 June 30, 2018 November 2018 →

Texas's 27th congressional district
 
Nominee Michael Cloud Eric Holguin
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 19,872 11,599
Percentage 54.8% 32.0%

County results
Cloud:      40–50%      60–70%      50–60%      70–80%

U.S. Representative before election

Blake Farenthold
Republican

Elected U.S. Representative

Michael Cloud
Republican

Background

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The district is reliably Republican; President Donald Trump carried it by a more-than-20-point margin in 2016.

Rep. Blake Farenthold resigned on April 6, 2018, due to allegations of sexual harassment, therefore a special election was needed in order to fill this seat until the 2018 midterms. Consequently, on April 23, 2018, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton approved of Governor Greg Abbott's plan to call a special election.[3]

Michael Cloud won this election, and got to serve the remainder of Farenthold's term in the 115th Congress, until January 2019. He previously won the Republican runoff for the same seat, so he appeared on the November ballot where he went on to win the general election.

Candidates

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Republican Party

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Declared

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Withdrawn

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Democratic Party

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Declared

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  • Raul (Roy) Barrera[4]
  • Eric Holguin[4]
  • Mike Westergren[4]

Libertarian Party

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Declared

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  • Daniel Tinus[4]

Independents

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Declared

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  • Judith Cutright[4]
  • Christopher Suprun[4]

Endorsements

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Michael Cloud

State officials
Texas Governor Greg Abbott[6] Individuals
Bech Bruun, suspended his campaign for the seat[7] Organizations
Tea Party Express[8]

Notes

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  1. ^ Bech Bruun (R) suspended his campaign, but remained on the ballot.[5]

Results

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Texas' 27th congressional district special election, 2018[9]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Michael Cloud 19,872 54.8
Democratic Eric Holguin 11,599 32.0
Democratic Raul (Roy) Barrera 1,748 4.8
Republican Bech Bruun (withdrawn) 1,571 4.3
Democratic Mike Westergren 858 2.4
Republican Marty Perez 276 0.8
Independent Judith Cutright 172 0.5
Libertarian Daniel Tinus 144 0.4
Independent Christopher Suprun 51 0.1
Total votes 36,268 100.0
Republican hold

References

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  1. ^ Moritz, John (April 24, 2018). "Special election for Blake Farenthold's seat set for June 30". Corpus Christi Caller-Times. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
  2. ^ "2018 Special Election, US Representative, District 27". Texas Secretary of State. Archived from the original on July 1, 2018. Retrieved June 30, 2018.
  3. ^ Svitek, Patrick (April 23, 2018). "Texas AG Paxton gives Abbott green light on sped-up special election for Farenthold seat". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved July 6, 2018.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Candidates for US Representative, Congressional District 27 Special Election". Texas Secretary of State. Archived from the original on May 1, 2018. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
  5. ^ Cruz-Aedo, Jared (May 23, 2010). "Bech Bruun not campaigning in District 27 special election". KIII.
  6. ^ "Governor Abbott endorses Michael Cloud". Greg Abbott official site. Retrieved June 30, 2018.
  7. ^ Dearman, Elanor (May 30, 2018). "Republican Bech Bruun endorses Michael Cloud in Texas' 27th Congressional District race". Corpus Christi Caller-Times.
  8. ^ "Tea Party Express Endorses Michael Cloud for U.S. Congress in Texas". Tea Party Express.
  9. ^ "2018 Special Election, US Representative, District 27". Texas Secretary of State. Retrieved June 30, 2018.
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Official campaign websites