Early voting begins for Texas primary races

AUSTIN, Texas - Early voting for the March primary got underway Tuesday morning in Texas.

Gov. Greg Abbott was among the first at a polling place in Bee Cave and his pick at the top of the ballot was no surprise. 

"I will tell you that I did vote for Donald Trump for President," said Abbott.

Other political endorsements the governor has made during several campaign stops, he admits, remain in doubt.

"On all these races, it looks like in the House they're going to be close. And these are hotly contested races, and we'll see how they work out," said Abbott.

Voter turnout for the 2024 Texas primary is expected to be low this year, a political wild card, according to political analyst Brian Smith with St. Edward’s University.

"Incumbents are always scared about low voter turnout, because it includes a lot of people who may vote for the incumbents, simply because they know them, staying at home. Anytime there's low voter turnout or high voter turnout, it scares incumbents, because they don't know who these people are," said Smith.

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn has survived campaigns with high and low voter turnout. "Turnout is absolutely critical," he said.

Cornyn and his wife were at the Carver Library in East Austin on Tuesday to vote. Sen. Cornyn, who recently endorsed Donald Trump for the GOP Presidential nomination, said he was also supporting Daniel Betts for Travis County District Attorney. Betts is running unopposed on the GOP ballot and that provides a possible political opportunity. 

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Texas has an open primary system and FOX 7 Austin asked the Senator what he thought about the idea of local Republicans instead voting in the Democratic primary for the contentious Travis County District Attorney race.

"I would say anybody but the incumbent, if people are going to vote in the Democratic primary. But you make a point. A point which is when there's no choice available, people are stuck with a single choice, which is the incumbent. And, so I encourage everybody to get out and vote and cast their ballot for their favorite candidate in their favorite primary," said Cornyn.

Some financial crossover action has already happened, according to campaign reports. That doesn't surprise Smith.

"When we think about Travis County, the D.A. race, this is the real election. The Republicans aren't going to stand a chance in the fall. But if I'm a Republican, and I'm concerned about the D.A. race, I might switch over and be able to vote in that race. Similarly, I might say, you know, I'm an independent who might lean Republican, but I want to see who can defeat Ted Cruz and switch over that way for the Democrats," said Smith.

Some party leaders have started talking about the idea of going to a closed primary system, but doing that could also eliminate any hope for getting party politics out of the control of party extremists.

"This is the moment for those candidates who might be tacking to the center to attract some voters from the other side who might not normally vote for them," said Smith.

Texas is one of 17 states with an open primary voting system, but if there is a runoff, the door is closed. This means someone who votes in the GOP primary now can't vote in a Democratic runoff if there is one later.