One resides in the north half of Texas' 17th District for the US House, the other in the south. One faced incumbent Chet Edwards in the 2008 general election; the other is in his first political race. One has fought with little cash; the other has a big bankroll. Now, they will face off in a Republican runoff.

Rob Curnock of Waco and Bill Flores of Bryan earned the second and first place positions in Tuesday's primary elections. Flores brought in 33 percent of the votes, with Curnock earning 29 percent. They will now face off in an April 13 runoff.

Dave McIntyre came in third place with 18 percent of the votes. Chuck Wilson pulled in 15 percent, and Timothy Delasandro won five percent.

Flores retired as a top executive at a Houston energy company. A Texas A&M grad, he returned to the Twin Cities just a few years ago.

Curnock, the 2008 nominee, was unopposed on the GOP side in his last quest to topple the Democrat, Edwards. He came up short by fewer than eight percent despite being vastly outspent by the incumbent. He is a small business owner.

Edwards was unopposed in the Democratic primary. He is seeking a fourth term as the representative of District 17 as it is current drawn. He won the seat when the district lines were redrawn in 2004 and has twice won re-election. He first won election to Congress in 1990.