TYLER, Texas — The response to coronavirus pandemic is changing the way Texans will pick some of the people who run the state and its communities.
Democrats and Republicans are adjusting their strategies now that the primary runoff election scheduled for May has been pushed back two months.
“I very much appreciate Gov. Abbott making sure that we continue to have our primary,” James Dickey, chairman on the Republican Party of Texas said, “but that we have it at a date and time when, clearly, the state will have been able to move on, and we will have been able to figure out how to handle this on a day-to-day basis.”
Instead of its original date of May 26, the runoff will take place July 14, with early voting beginning July 6.
Republicans wanted the delay.
“It’s not so much about voting, and certainly not so much about voting just on Election Day, but it’s all of the pre-work," Dickey explained. "The elections administrators and us at the party; the volunteers we’d have to be recruiting and training to be poll workers.”
The Texas Democratic Party wanted to keep the original date but allow all Texans to vote by mail.
“Right now, Texas has one of the most restrictive vote-by-mail programs in any state in the country,” Abhi Rahman, communications director for the TDP, said. “And it really makes no sense at all. People want access to the ballot box. They should be able to do it. Especially now. It’s important and will continue to be important as the years go on.”
There are some important primaries to decide, including for U.S. Senate, where either MJ Hegar or Royce West will become the Democratic challenger to Republican incumbent John Cornyn.
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In East Texas, there are a handful of county and judicial races yet to be decided.
Both parties said candidates are finding new ways to reach voters and will continue to adapt their strategies and July draws closer.
“From what I’ve seen, all of the campaigns have made the smart moves of moving their staff from door-to-door efforts to phone-banking efforts, to do online, to digital,” Dickey said.
Rahman said the Democratic Party has changed its focus from campaigning to provide more resources related to preventing the spread of coronavirus, something he acknowledged many Republicans are doing as well.
“Everything is moving virtually and online,” Rahman mentioned. “So, I think, in that aspect, it doesn’t really change much in the fact that we were going to have to deal with this with or without the election moving back.”
Dickey believes voter turnout will be higher in July than it would have been in May but cautioned that primary turnout does not always reflect turnout levels in the ensuing general election.
Dickey and Rahman agreed that the decision to delay the runoff election will have little to no impact on November’s general election, when the fight to reelect or replace President Donald Trump is expected to increase interest for races up and down the ballot.
“Most people don’t start paying attention until the last couple months, anyways, so I don’t think it really makes that big of a difference,” Rahman claimed.
Dickey pointed to 2012, another year in which the primary runoff was postponed.
“I will remind everybody, one of the candidates who won in that runoff in 2012 was a guy named Ted Cruz,” Dickey said. “And I think he did just fine in the general election and has gone on to do just fine in office.”
Rahman said the TDP will continue to fight for an expansion of vote-by-mail. It filed a lawsuit against the Secretary of State that Rahman said could be resolved in time to take effect for the July election.
“We think this goes beyond politics,” Rahman stated. “This isn’t a party battle. This is really a battle to ensure that people are using, able to exercise their right to vote without risking public health. And I think courts are going to see it that way. I think it’s very hard to argue against our position. I think we’re going to end up winning this lawsuit.”