During her first day on the job, a recent gubernatorial appointee received a series of proclamation letters from the Office of the Governor requesting her to oversee the execution of a third special election for a Texas House seat on November 5.
Ruth Hughs, Texas’ new secretary of state, had been appointed to her new job only a few hours before receiving her first assignment from Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday.
Following an announcement from State Rep. Jessica Farrar (D-Houston) of her intent to resign her seat effective September 30, Abbott added House District 148 to the list of districts requiring a special election this year to finish unexpired terms in the Texas House. Abbott’s office made the announcement in an official press release late Monday. Farrar announced last week she would not be seeking re-election to the House seat she has held for 25 years.
Farrar’s announcement follows the resignations of former State Reps. Eric Johnson (D-Dallas) and John Zerwas (R-Richmond) earlier this summer, meaning there will be three special legislative elections before the end of the year. Johnson was elected mayor of Dallas in May, and Zerwas recently accepted a position as executive vice chancellor of Health Affairs with the University of Texas System.
The full list of special elections scheduled for Nov. 5 includes the following districts:
Texas House District 28 (Richmond)
Texas House District 100 (Dallas)
Texas House District 148 (Houston)
Candidates looking to run for (and keep) these seats will have two filing periods and deadlines to meet: one for the special election and one for the looming 2020 party primary elections in March. The candidate filing deadline for the former is Wednesday, September 4, and the deadline for the latter is Monday, December 9. Early voting for the November 5 special elections will begin Monday, October 21.
The remainder of the unexpired terms for the three seats will conclude when the newly elected lawmakers are sworn in at the start of the 87th State Legislative Session on January 12, 2021.
