His name will appear on the presidential ballot, but after 23 non-consecutive years in Congress, three presidential campaigns and stints in the Republican and Libertarian parties — Rep. Ron Paul will not be up for re-election to his Galveston-area 14th District. Instead, voters there will choose nominees to replace him.
On the Democratic side, former Rep. Nick Lampson is the presumptive nominee, though the winner of the Republican primary will be favored to win in November. The frontrunner in the race is state Rep. Randy Weber, who has been endorsed by Gov. Rick Perry. According to FEC filings through May 9, Weber has raised almost $315,000, on top of $100,000 of his own money he pumped into the race.
Weber’s main opponent for the nomination is Jay Old, a defense attorney who specializes in medical lawsuits. Old has raised over $550,000, plus $50,000 of his own money — an advantage that has allowed him to have a presence on TV. Also in the running are Pearland City Councilwoman Felicia Harris, and Texas State University Regent Michael Truncale.
Paul himself has not made an endorsement in the race. The state’s multi-candidate primary creates the possibility that no single candidate could reach 50 percent of the vote — a scenario that would send the top two candidates in a party primary to a runoff election on July 31.
