John Lujan and Frank Ramirez advance to runoff for Texas House seat | The Texas Tribune
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Republican John Lujan and Democrat Frank Ramirez are advancing to a special election runoff to fill the seat of former state Rep. Leo Pacheco, D-San Antonio, a seat the GOP is eager to flip as it looks to gain new ground in South Texas.
With all vote centers reporting Tuesday night, Lujan was getting 42% of the vote, while Ramirez was receiving 20%, according to unofficial returns. Democrat Desi Martinez, a lawyer, was in third with 18%, followed by Democrat Katie Farias, a local school board member, at 12%. The other Republican on the ballot — Adam Salyer, the 2020 nominee for the seat — finished last at 9%.
The special election was triggered by Pacheco’s resignation last month to teach at San Antonio College.
The district, anchored in the South Side of San Antonio, is Democratic-friendly, though Republicans believe they have a shot at capturing it as they seek to capitalize on President Joe Biden’s underperformance across South Texas last year.
Lujan has run three times before in the district, the first time in a 2016 special election where he flipped the seat before losing the regular general election months later. Lujan is backed by Gov. Greg Abbott, House Speaker Dade Phelan, and a number of deep-pocketed GOP groups, which have helped him raise more than double what the Democratic candidates combined raised.
Still, Lujan campaigned with a bipartisan appeal, leaning on his business experience and law enforcement background. He even said he supported Medicaid expansion, though he clearly lined up with his party on issues like abortion and gun rights.
Pacheco endorsed Ramirez to succeed him, as did Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff.
The Democratic field seized on some of the issues of the day, with Farias campaigning against what she called a “war on women” under the state’s new abortion law banning the practice as early as six weeks into pregnancy.
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