BEAUMONT, Texas — With only one day left for early voting in the State House District 21 race, incumbent Dade Phelan is fighting to retain his seat against David Covey.
12News has been on the ground, meeting voters at polling stations across the district.
Starting at Rogers Park in Beaumont on Monday, moving to Vidor’s Raymond Gould Community Center on Tuesday, and Mauriceville Community Center yesterday, today the focus has been on the City of Orange, where voting has been taking place at the Orange Public Library.
12News spoke with Dr. James Nelson, a political science professor at Lamar University, who provided insight on how the outcome of the State House District 21 race could impact Southeast Texas.
"It's a big deal for Southeast Texas, it's a big deal for the state of Texas, it's a big deal for the Republican party going forward," said Dade Phelan.
Dr. Nelson says the outcome of the May 28 runoff will likely determine the political direction that our state takes in the next few years.
"If Phelan loses the speakership, there is some chance that the State House starts being run more like the U.S. House," said Dr. Nelson.
Dr. Nelson says that while the District 21 race is not necessarily indicative of an overall trend, its spike in interest is comparable to the 2024 Presidential race, pushing many voters to the polls.
He says that the spike in attention is not indicative of what to expect in November.
"The lesser of two evils is often what people do think of if they're not, you know, very enthusiastic about one of the two candidates," said Dr. Nelson.
Dr. Nelson says people in the "Covey Camp" may be energized because they see someone speaking more to their values.
Phelan and Covey's campaigns highlight their distinct appeal. Covey spoke about his alignment with former President Trump, while Phelan emphasized his achievements in local infrastructure and mental health services.
"I've already shown I can work with the former President Trump, so if I can go all the way up and get his recognition and the state lines across the state, I believe I can also work with the other elected representatives from around the state," said Covey.
"More transportation projects than anywhere else in the state of Texas is happening right here in southeast Texas. The first funding ever, for our Southeast Texas ports $66 million, the first mental health behavioral health hospital since 1966 as well," said Phelan.
In between conservative and liberal voters are centrists.
Dr. Nelson says that's where the race for State House District 21 and the 2024 presidential race overlap.
"For people outside of the district to really want him to win are people who want the Republican party of Texas to be more consistently very conservative. More consistently kind of far right or noticeably to the right of the center," said Dr. Nelson.
Both candidates stress the importance of voting in this election.
The last day to vote early will be on May 24.
Only those living in District 21 can vote. The district covers all of Jasper and Orange counties while only part of Jefferson County is represented.
The race is open to registered voters in the district who did not vote in the Democratic Primary.
Text the word "vote" to 409-838-1212 to receive election information.
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This is a developing story. We will update with more if and when we receive more confirmed information.