Texans went to the polls Tuesday for a second time in the primary season to decide who goes to the ballot in November.
TX-HD70 Primary Runoff
Among the races was Mihaela Plesa in TX-HD70 that went up against Cassandra Garcia Hernandez. Hernandez comes from a background of being a trial and immigration attorney. Plesa is Texas Legislative Director in the Texas House of Representatives. Plesa won the runoff 2,579 votes to 2,096 and will face Republican Jamee Jolly in the November election. Jolly has been a senior executive director with the Plano ISD Education Foundation, a president and CEO with the Plano Chamber of Commerce, and an executive director with the Greater Dallas Restaurant Association. Jolly beat Eric Bowlin at the ballot box 4,489 votes to 4,135.
Learn how to become a medical cannabis patient in Texas
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TX-HD91Primary Runoff
Stephanie Klick faced David Lowe in a runoff for Tx-HD91. Klick’s background is a Bachelor of Science in nursing from Texas Christian University and a Master of Public Health from Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences and is the incumbent seat holder. Lowe has a background as an Army Veteran, Police Officer and Corrections Officer. Klick has authored every medical cannabis bill that has passed the Texas legislature to be signed by the governor in the history of the state so far. Klick beat Lowe 4,920 votes to 4,134.
There is no Democrat, Libertarian, or Independent running on the ballot in November. Klick has officially won this seat for the 2023 legislative session.
Learn how to become a medical cannabis patient in Texas
TX-HD61Primary Runoff
Frederick Frazier was in a runoff for the Republican primary against Paul Chabot. Frazier has been in the North Texas community as a police officer, including 14 years as a Special Deputy US Marshal. Chabot has a background that includes being a US Naval Reserve officer, and a realtor that helps families move from legal cannabis states to ones of prohibition to fight legalization efforts. Frazier beat Chabot at the ballot box 6,424 votes to 3,629.
Lt. Governor Primary Runoff
Mike Collier was facing off against Michelle Beckley in the Democratic primary for the Lt. Governor race. Collier has ran in the past against Republican Dan Patrick. His career experience includes founding a Texas oil company and working as its chief financial officer, with Exxon, and as an auditor with PricewaterhouseCoopers. Beckley’s career experience includes owning Kookaburra Pet Shop and being the seat holder for TX-HD65 until her term expires in 2023. Collier won at the ballot against Beckley 251,813 votes to 205,561.
Attorney General Primary Runoff
Joe JaWorski was up against Rochelle Garza for the Texas Attorney General Democratic Primary. Jaworski has a background of being the former Mayor of Galveston. Garza has career experience that includes working as a staff attorney with ACLU of Texas and a managing attorney with Garza & Garza Law, PLLC. Jaworski lost his race at the ballot box 277,705 votes to 165,674.
The impact
Both Jaworski and Garza are strongly in favor of removing the criminal penalties for marijuana. Their positions as AG would give either one of them the opportunity to give exam to the laws in the state to determine if they have been properly put in place. An example of this would be the current delta-8 case involving DSHS and backed by the current Attorney General Ken Paxton.
Learn how to become a medical cannabis patient in Texas
Mihaela Plesa has been a strong advocate for cannabis legalization, doing work with NORML in the past. Garza has been a vocal advocate on the issue that marijuana is still a class-B misdemeanor offense in the state and wants to change that. Both candidates were strong picks for cannabis legalization, but Plesa likely takes the edge because of her past as being a legislative director in the state. Having that knowledge and being a known face in the capitol makes the odds of getting a bill across the finish line
go up.
In regards to Klick, she might be one of the last representatives that can work a medical bill out with the state governor if Abbott is elected, along with Dan Patrick. There is obviously a prior relationship given the history of medical cannabis in the state. The past session was a unique one given COVID-19. And the bill she put forward was highly likely something special tailored for that session that would be signable by the governor, and a roll of the dice with Dan Patrick. It’s also highly likely that issues that arose from delta-8 in the hemp bill and concentrates bill had influence on what passed in the final rounds. Klick being in place compared to her primary opponent that was a former LEO that was against cannabis, is overall a benefit.
Read more about TCUP (Texas Compassionate Use Program)
Paul Chabot losing his race is a possible good thing. The linked article describes just how much a thorn he has been in legalization advocates side in the past. Not much is known about Frazier and his stance, but one could possibly position that having a gamble with someone that may be willing to have a discussion, is better than a candidate that is hard no on cannabis without room to budge.
Regarding Mike Collier winning, the man was for cannabis legalization. So was his opponent. What to look at here is the ability of winning a race against Dan Patrick, especially for those that think Patrick will never budge on the topic. Collier has a background in oil which is a hot topic in the state right now. An oil insider can pull some credibility on the topic. As well, with the background with the esteemed audit company PricewaterhouseCoopers may come in handy given that the state has been consistently bringing up audits for voting and election security – something PwC has an awesome track record with.
Tuesday, November 8, 2022 is election day across the nation. Be sure to register in Texas at least 30 days before that date to be able to vote in the election, as required by Texas law. If you do plan to vote by mail make sure that you take note of what method you use to register, state ID or driver’s license