We are just days away from Super Tuesday. Yes, we’re hearing a lot of news about the presidential election but let us not forget that there are 35 Senate seats and 435 House seats up for election, too.
<div> <p paraid="518769032" paraeid="{f1bdb206-e239-41da-87f3-ab84006d4c07}{191}">By: Tori Anderson Agee, Manager, Political Affairs, FMI </p> </div> <div> <p><img src="https://www.fmi.org/images/default-source/blog-images/congressional-primaries.tmb-large-350-.jpg?sfvrsn=a6c06f0a_3" data-displaymode="Thumbnail" alt="Congressional Primaries" title="Congressional Primaries" style="float: right; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px;" />We are just days away from Super Tuesday. Yes, we’re hearing a lot of news about the presidential election but let us not forget that there are 35 Senate seats and 435 House seats up for election, too. Five states will be holding their congressional primaries next week on Tuesday, March 3. I did the math, and there will be 113 districts in play on Super Tuesday, which accounts for more than a quarter of all the congressional primaries across the country.</p> <p>With dozens of elections taking place across the country, 2020 will be a political year. It’s critical for the food industry to keep a pulse on these races. Now, you may be asking yourself, what does this political landscape look like?</p> <h5><strong>Alabama </strong></h5> <p>The Alabama Senate primary is an interesting one to watch. Because Alabama is a well-known conservative state, the Republican primary will be a battleground. Former Senator and U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced just a few months ago that he was going to attempt to win back his old seat. He is in the primary with Rep. Bradley Bryne (AL-01) and former Auburn football head coach, Tommy Tuberville. Both hold strong name recognition in the state. Roy Moore is back and on the ballot. If no candidate receives over 50% of the vote, there will be a run-off election on March 31. We’ll see which candidate wins the primary to face-off against Democrat incumbent Doug Jones in the general election.</p> <h5><strong>North Carolina </strong></h5> <p>North Carolina will have one of the most competitive Senate races to watch in the country. Republican Senator Thom Tillis is up for his first re-election. Tillis won his race with 48.8% of the vote in 2014. </p> <p>There are five Democratic candidates in the primary. The front runner is Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC)-supported Cal Cunningham. Cunningham is an Army Reservist and former State Senator. His biggest competition is Erica Smith, a current State Senator. </p> <h5><strong>Texas</strong></h5> <p>One Senate primary and 34 congressional primaries will take place on Tuesday in Texas. With Senator John Cornyn (R) up for re-election, there are 12 Democratic candidates vying for his seat in the primary race. Former congressional candidate and combat veteran MJ Hegar leads the pack, with state Senator, Royce West, following behind. </p> <p>This year, we witnessed six congressional Republicans announce their retirements, which has created a catalyst for primary candidates. With six open seats in the House, the primaries are saturated with candidates. In TX-11, 10 Republican candidates will battle for retiring Rep. Mike Conaway’s seat. The district is a R+32, so it’s safe to assume that who wins the primary will win the election. The same can be said for TX-13, Rep. Mac Thornberry’s seat, and TX-17, Rep. Bill Flores’ seat. </p> <p>We are also interested to watch TX-22, TX-23 and TX-24. Rep. Pete Olson, in TX-22, is retiring. While the Cook Political Report has it as a R+10, the ever-changing population of the Houston suburbs has had a dramatic effect on the district. The open seat is currently classified as a toss-up. Rep. Kenny Marchant’s (TX-24) seat is also being considered a toss-up, despite being a R+9. Rep. Will Hurd’s (TX-23) seat is now being considered Lean Democratic, which makes this race an uphill battle for Republicans. </p> <p>This all goes to show that anything can happen between now and November 3, 2020; politics will be a year for the history books and that’s all that is certain. </p> <p paraid="2094577463" paraeid="{f1bdb206-e239-41da-87f3-ab84006d4c07}{197}"> <a href="https://fmiaction.mmp2.org" class="button">More Voting Resources</a></p> </div>
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