Voters in South Texas will head to the polls this weekend to decide a special election to fill a vacant congressional seat.
This Saturday, voters in Texas' 27th Congressional District will head to the polls to choose a replacement for Congressman Blake Farenthold. Farenthold, a Republican who held the office from 2011 until 2018, resigned amid allegations that he used taxpayer dollars to settle a sexual harassment lawsuit. Governor Greg Abbott has called a special election and a replacement will decided who will serve out the rest of Farenthold's term through January, 2019.
Nine candidates have filed to run in the special election, including three who will appear on the November general election ballot. The candidates are Republican nominee for November, Michael Cloud; Democratic nominee for November, Eric Holguin; and Libertarian nominee for November, Daniel Tinus. Several other candidates who are just on the ballot for the unexpired term have filed to run. Those candidates are: Democrat Mike Westergren, Democrat Roy Barrera, Republican Bech Braun, Republican Marty Perez, independent Judith Cutright and independent Christopher Suprun.
If a candidate wins more than 50 percent of the vote on Saturday, then they will hold the office through January. If no candidate wins a majority, then a special election runoff will be held in September between the top two vote-getting candidates.
