Enjoy the Primary? Good. Ready for the Runoff?

Update, 11 March 2016: The official date for runoff elections in Texas will be Tuesday 24 May.

Yada-yada, Instant Runoff Voting, yada Ranked Preference, Approval Voting, Single Transferable yada-yada, etc. Yada, saves millions of dollars, yada-yada, prevents embarrassingly crappy turnout figures.

I know that a lot of my friends who had expressed great enthusiasm for voting in the primary mostly were enthused about voting for Bernie Sanders. But as irreverent as most of them typically are, for all their talk about "civic duty," and the good feelings associated with participating in the democratic process, I hope they will treat the runoffs with as much earnestness as they treated the presidential contest. (At the very least, perhaps they can learn more about the candidates left standing.) If not, I hope they will give serious thought to advocating for some form of Instant Runoff Voting in Houston, Harris County, and Texas.

Let me express here my gratitude that Kim Ogg was able, albeit narrowly, to avoid a runoff for the Democratic nomination for District Attorney. Ogg was also the Democratic nominee in 2014. One of her platform planks was decriminalization of cannabis possession, but she didn't have the guts to print up a bunch of bumper stickers saying, "I'm a stoner, and I vote!" In the general election, she lost 53-47 to the very capable, not horribly ideological Devon Anderson. Anderson was appointed to the post after her husband Mike Anderson's untimely death; she ran in 2014 for the privilege of completing Mike's unexpired term. Ogg still favors a cite-and-release approach for possession of small amounts. She and Anderson are headed for a rematch in November, as Anderson ran unopposed on the Republican side.

Below is a list of the races in both primaries in Harris County wherein no candidate received 50% of the vote, necessitating runoff elections between the top two candidates (italicized) in each. Not everyone in the county will have to vote in all of these races, but because there are statewide runoffs for Railroad Commissioner in both parties, all 254 counties in Texas will need to facilitate runoffs. As typically happens, turnout will likely be light, but even lighter in districts that do not have a legislative district runoff.

Chuck Kuffner has some breathtakingly painstaking analysis of the primary results at Off the Kuff, starting here.

Three final reminders:

1. If you voted in one of the primaries, you may not vote in the other party's runoff election.
2. If you did not vote in either party's primary, you may still vote in either party's runoff election, with all that implies—e.g., it marks your affiliation for that party for the remainder of the year.
3. You will still need an approved photo ID to vote in the runoff.

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Democratic Runoffs

Railroad Commissioner (statewide tally):
Grady Yarbrough 39.95% (also ran for the US Senate nomination in 2012)
Cody Garrett 35.15%
Lon Burnam 24.89% (a disappointing third for the most progressive RRC candidate)

Harris County Sheriff:
Ed Gonzalez 43.50%
Jerome Moore 29.79%
Theodore "Ted" Perez 14.38%
Jeff Stauber 12.33%

District Judge, 11th Judicial District:
Kristen Hawkins 49.35% (missed 50% by fewer than 1,100 votes)
Rabeea Collier 25.38%
Jim Lewis 25.27% (185 votes behind Collier, a textbook case of how IRV cures a multitude of ills)

District Judge, 61st Judicial District:
Fredericka Phillips 38.26%
Julie Countiss 35.85%
Dion Ramos 25.89%

District Judge, 215th Judicial District:
Elaine Palmer 43.14%
JoAnn Storey 27.40%
Joshua A. Verde 20.10%
Jonathan C.C. Day 9.36%

State Board of Education, District 6 (entirely within Harris County):
Jasmine L. Jenkins 44.21%
R. Dakota Carter 31.88%
Michael Jordan 23.91% (long tradition in Texas of candidates with celebrities' names)

State House, District 139 (NW Houston, including Acres Homes):
Kimberly Willis 32.14%
Jarvis D. Johnson 28.56%
Randy Bates 25.14%
Jerry Ford Jr. 14.16%

Justice of the Peace, Precinct 1, Place 1:
Eric William Carter 25.51%
Tanya Makany-Rivera 25.09%
five other candidates

Justice of the Peace, Precinct 7, Place 1:
Hilary H. Green 29.52%
Cheryl Elliott Thornton 19.08%
six other candidates

Constable, Precinct 2:
Christopher (Chris) Diaz 45.29%
George Goffney, Jr. 21.02%
Joe "Joey" Martinez 17.32%
Ruben Loreto 16.36%

Constable, Precinct 3:
Sherman Eagleton 19.85%
Michel Pappillion 15.44%
seven other candidates

Precinct 398 Democratic Chairperson:
Shirley Watts 44.64%
Deniza (Dee) Coleman 38.93%
Bethany Bannister 16.43%

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​Republican Runoffs

Railroad Commissioner (statewide tally):
Gary Gates 28.35%
Wayne Christian 19.75%
five other candidates for the seat that RRC Chair David Porter is vacating after one term

​US House, District 18 (entirely within Harris County):
Lori Bartley 33.68%
Reggie Gonzales 33.08%
Sharon Joy Fisher 26.12%
Ava Pate 7.13%

Judge, State Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 2 (statewide tally):
Mary Lou Keel 39.42%
Ray Wheless 35.42%
Chris Oldner 25.15%

Judge, State Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 5 (statewide tally):
Scott Walker 41.48%
Brent Webster 20.45%
Steve Smith 19.59%
Sid Harle 18.46%

State House, District 128 (easternmost Harris County):
Briscoe Cain 48.01%
Wayne Smith 43.57%
Melody McDaniel 8.42%

Harris County Republican Party Chairperson:
Rick Ramos 39.82%
Paul Simpson 39.14%
Tex Christopher 21.04%