While the dust settles on most of the Super Tuesday primaries, some states have yet to declare definitive winners, setting candidates up for runoff elections.
Here is a list of four key runoffs where candidates are vying to secure a win after failing to meet their state’s threshold requirement needed to come out on top.
Race for the Texas House speaker
Texas Republican House Speaker Dade Phelan is headed for a runoff election against his Republican rival David Covey, who has garnered endorsements from former President Donald Trump and Attorney General Ken Paxton. Though Phelan and Covey were running a close match Tuesday evening, a third candidate, Alicia Davis, siphoned votes away from the top two contenders to help keep them from gaining the 50% majority needed.
Phelan has been accused by Republicans of being a traitor to the GOP after supporting impeachment efforts against Paxton last year. While the incumbent has easily secured past contests, the runoff election is expected to be a tense race as both men attempt to convince voters why they should lead the chamber.
“This runoff is not just another race, it’s the frontline of the battle for the soul of our district,” Phelan said Tuesday in a statement. “While my opponent hides behind empty rhetoric, dishonest advertising and surrogate voices, I stand before voters with a clear record of service and conservative success.”
Covey has presented himself as a candidate who is more in touch with his conservative roots and has slammed Phelan for appointing some Democrats to chair House committees, the Texas Tribune reported.
Texas 23rd Congressional District
Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX) is set to face social media personality Brandon Herrera in a runoff election on May 28, where he will have to win if he wants to hold on to his seat for a third term.
With almost all of the votes counted, Gonzalez secured 45% of the vote, while Herrera garnered 25%, per the Associated Press. Gonzalez was in the hot seat after supporting a bipartisan gun safety bill following the Uvalde school shooting, which Republicans and Second Amendment advocates strongly opposed. Meanwhile, Herrera has advertised himself as a staunch gun rights activist.
North Carolina 6th Congressional District
Republican Addison McDowell and former Rep. Mark Walker will also prepare for a runoff election for the state’s 6th Congressional District on May 14.
To avoid a runoff, North Carolina requires a candidate to garner 30% of the party’s vote. When the Associated Press called the race, McDowell had 26% of the vote, just shy of reaching the required threshold, while Walker maintained a close 24%.
While Walker is attempting a comeback bid after he previously represented the district from 2015 to 2021, McDowell has garnered former President Donald Trump’s endorsement after announcing his congressional bid in December.
The eventual winner will take over Democrat Kathy Manning’s seat, who decided not to run for reelection after lawmakers redrew the state’s maps, making her district sway more Republican.
Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District
Two Democrats from Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District are looking ahead to a second runoff election.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
State House Minority Leader Anthony Daniels had 22.4% of the vote, and former deputy chief of staff for Attorney General Merrick Garland, Shomari Figures, led with 43.5% when the race was called Tuesday evening.
The state’s 2nd District was created following the Supreme Court’s ruling that the state had violated the Voting Rights Act because there was only one black-majority district despite black residents making up 27% of Alabama.