Republicans and Democrats Head to Runoffs in Purple North Texas House District
House District 70 is in Collin County and is considered a swing district with a Texas Partisan Index score of 50, meaning it could go Democrat or Republican.
Republicans vying for the seat in the second round will be James Jolly and Eric Bowlin. Jolly garnered the most votes with over 37% while Bowlin came in second with just over 32%.
Jolly is a past president of the Plano Chamber of Commerce and most recently served as executive director of the Plano ISD Education Foundation. It has been endorsed by the Texas Alliance for Life PAC and the Texas Bankers Association.
On her website, she lists prioritizing personal freedom, supporting law enforcement and tackling border security issues among the most important issues.
Bowlin, a US Army veteran and leadership coach, has been endorsed by groups like Texas Eagle Forum, Grassroots America We the People and Texas Gun Rights.
Among his campaign priorities are supporting law enforcement, protecting Texas energy jobs and ensuring election integrity.
On the Democratic side, there is a virtual three-way tie between the candidates. It currently appears that Cassandra Garcia Hernandez and Mihaela Elizabeth Plesa will battle it out for the nomination in a runoff, but the race has not been officially announced.
The third, Lorenzo Sanchez, had only 29 votes less than Plesa.
Hernandez is a Dallas personal injury attorney who describes her priorities on her website as “addressing pressing issues regarding public education, the future of our state’s economy, public safety, health care and justice for all”.
Plesa is the daughter of immigrants from Eastern Europe. She has been involved in advocacy with groups such as the Young National Organization of Women and the National Organization for Marijuana Law Reform.
The current third place, Sanchezposted on his social media on March 2 that “We are awaiting the final results as the postal and provisional ballots are still being counted. We look forward to every vote being counted to see our next steps.
Sanchez is a small business owner whose priorities include extending health care coverage to uninsured Texans, holding businesses “accountable for environmental violations” and enacting “reasonable gun laws.”
The second round will take place on May 24.