Runoff expected for race to replace Rep. Bill Flores in District 17

The race is on to replace retiring Congressman Bill Flores.

15 people filed paperwork to run for the U.S. House of Representatives seat for District 17. On March 3, voters across the Brazos Valley will get their first chance at narrowing down who will serve in that position. With so many candidates to consider, election experts say a runoff is likely.

"The math for a runoff is the winner has to be declared 50% plus one vote. So in a field of three or more, it's really hard for one candidate to get 50 percent plus one vote," said Trudy Hancock, Brazos County Elections Administrator.

"I would research whatever your party affiliation is, research those candidates. Most of the time the best information is online put out by that candidate to tell you what they stand for," said Hancock.

Political science experts say, with so many candidates, it could take time to see who sticks out.

"Yeah it's going to be tough on voters," said Kirby Goidel, who is the Executive Director of Texas A&M Public Policy Research Institute.

"This is a really important seat and it having an open seat means that you get a lot of people deciding that you want to run... Everybody is really excited about trying to get in and trying to win that seat," he said.

"What candidate has name recognition? What candidate can build an organization? What candidate can successfully raise money so that they can also have a successful campaign?" said Goidel.

Of the 15 people running, three are Democrats.

They include William Foster III of Hearne. He is retired and has business ownership experience according to his filing with the Texas Secretary of State.

David Anthony Jaramillo of Waco has worked at the Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Waco where he's worked on disability claims for veterans, according to his campaign website.

Richard Kennedy of Pflugerville is a project manager in the tech industry. He also ran against Congressman Flores in 2018.

The Republican field is much broader. Six candidates filed from the Waco area.

Scott Bland, a home builder, and former Secret Service Agent. Kristen Alamo Rowin is a real estate agent. Pete Sessions has previous experience serving in the House of Representatives in the Dallas area. He lost his seat in 2018.

David Saucedo works as a safety coordinator for a company in Waco. Renee Swann owns an ophthalmology clinic and is a healthcare executive. A candidate from nearby Robinson is Laurie Godfrey McReynolds, who is a real estate agent.

Three candidates to file are from Bryan / College Station.

Trent Sutton is a retired United States Marine and lives in Brazos County. Elianor Vessali vacated her seat on the College Station City Council to run for Congress. She is a local business manager and realtor. Todd Kent is from the Bryan area. He has a background is in higher education. His work also includes political and business consulting and ties to Texas A&M.

Ahmad Adnan, a financial advisor from Austin, filed to run. George Hindman of Pflugerville is also a candidate. He is in research and development and a rocket scientist.

KBTX is still gathering details on Jeff Oppenheim but is told by Republican leaders he is retired military. Party leaders believe he is based out of the Austin area.

KBTX left messages with Oppenheim to find out more about his background. His profile and several other candidates running have not been uploaded to the Secretary of State's website as of Tuesday.

The deadline to register to vote in the primary is February 3.