CHS participates in Texas Primaries

Maddie Walters and Hubert Adjei-Kontoh
Staff Writer

On Tues. March 2, CHS seniors, teachers and other registered voters flocked to the voting booths to place their vote for their favorite candidate in the Texas Governor primaries. While not all seniors are eligible to vote, a majority of those who are 18 voted in the primaries.

The Republicans and Democrats chose their gubernatorial nominees based on the results of primary votes held on March 2. Both parties’ candidates received at least 20 percent of the total votes cast for governor in the 2006 election; thus, they must nominate their candidates via primary election.

In the Republican primary, two-term Governor Rick Perry faced Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison and Debra Medina, with Perry capturing the most votes and winning his party’s nomination. On the same day, several candidates sought the Democratic nomination, including former Houston mayor Bill White, who won the party’s primary by a landslide.

Ballot access in Texas elections can get a little complex. For example, Any political party whose candidate for governor garners at least 20 percent of the total votes cast, must nominate all its candidates for all offices sought via primary election. In the 2006 election, both the Democratic candidate, Chris Bell, and the Republican candidate, Perry, received the required amount of votes and so both parties had to hold primary elections using the two-round system.

The primary elections must be held on the first Tuesday in March, and a candidate must receive a majority of votes cast in the primary election; otherwise, a runoff election between the top two finishers must be held on the second Tuesday in April.

According to county by county results, Dallas county was among the majority of Texas counties who elected Rick Perry as the republican candidate for the gubernational election, which will take place on Nov. 2. Perry received 51.1 percent of the vote and will therefore be able to avoid a runoff with his second place opponent, Kay Bailey Hutchinson, who received 30.4 percent of the vote.

In the Democratic Primaries, Bill White received 76.2 percent of the vote, with his second place opponent Farouk Shami only coming in with 12.7 percent of the vote.

While based on Texas’ political affiliations, it is likely that Perry will win the gubernationals, but hope can be held out for Texas Democrats. Perry’s last term showed some of his ugly side including his “crony-ism” and obvious disregard for enviromental protection.

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