Delays, Delays: Looking like May 29th for Texas primaries

From The Austin American Statesman

SAN ANTONIO — A judge told Texas politicos Wednesday to prepare for Republican and Democratic primaries on May 29 almost three full months after the parties traditionally hold those elections.

The delayed election calendar, a fallout from a lengthy legal fight over state and congressional redistricting maps, will decrease the odds of Texas Republicans having much of a say in choosing the party's presidential nominee. It also will give challengers in both parties more time than usual to try to defeat incumbents up and down the ballot, and it could delay post-primary runoff elections until August.

U.S. Appeals Court Judge Jerry Smith, a member of a three-judge panel hearing the redistricting case, did not officially set a May 29 primary but told party leaders to tell candidates to plan on an election around that time.

Wednesday marked the second delay for this year's primaries. Those elections, which Republicans and Democrats use to choose their nominees for the fall campaigns, usually fall in March but had already been pushed to early April as the redistricting case dragged on.