Senate Finance Chairman Tommy Williams, R-The Woodlands, announced he won’t run for comptroller after all. He’d rather stay put, and said in a press release that being chairman of Senate Finance is "incompatible with the demands of simultaneously running for a statewide election."
Harris County Commissioners Steve Radack and Jack Cagle endorsed Sen. Dan Patrick’s bid for lieutenant governor, choosing the Houston Republican over the incumbent Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, who is also a Republican from Houston. Patrick also announced that Rep. Dwayne Bohac, R-Houston, has endorsed him.
Amarillo Republican Elaine Hays, a businesswoman, announced she will challenge U.S. Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Clarendon, in next year’s Republican primary in CD-13.
Sachse City Councilman Jared Patterson will challenge state Rep. Angie Chen Button, R-Richardson, in the GOP primary in HD-112.
Karen Harris, a radiologic technologist and former member of the State Republican Executive Committee, will run in HD-53, where Rep. Harvey Hilderbran, R-Kerrville, is the incumbent. He has said he’s running for comptroller
Early bird: U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, endorsed Hillary Clinton for president in 2016 in a race for which she has not yet declared her candidacy.
Robert Scott, former Texas education commissioner, joined the Texas Star Alliance, the lobby firm founded by John Pitts. He’s the second former agency chief in the fold; former HHS Commissioner Tom Suehs is also with that firm.
Texans for Fiscal Responsibility/Empower Texans added Gregory Harrison as a field representative, Tony McDonald as general counsel and Morgan Williamson as communications coordinator. McDonald and Williamson both worked as House staffers during the regular session.
Press corps moves: Corrie MacLaggan joins the Texas Tribune after stints at Reuters and the Austin American-Statesman. The Trib also hired two out-of-state reporters, Jim Malewitz from Stateline and Neena Satija of WNPR/Connecticut Public Radio to cover energy and the environment, respectively.
Deaths: Paul Eggers, a Republican who ran for governor of Texas in 1968 and 1970, served in the Treasury Department under Richard Nixon and was a longtime friend and business partner with the late U.S. Sen. John Tower. He was 94.