GOP race for District 15 U.S. House race heads to runoff

McALLEN — Two old hands are set to square off in a Republican runoff in what has become a perennially South Texas matchup.

It will be the second time 73-year-old Paul Haring and 47-year-old Eddie Zamora have competed head-to-head for the chance to take on longtime incumbent U.S. Rep. Rubén Hinojosa, D-Mercedes, for the state’s District 15 seat in the U.S. House. Each of the two challengers failed to garner more than 50 percent of the vote in Tuesday’s three-way Republican primary, which also featured newcomer Daniel Garza.

Haring and Zamora also ran against each other in the 2006 GOP primary. They faced off again in the general election that year after the primary results were tossed out.

Haring earned the most votes in Tuesday’s primary, besting Hidalgo County residents Zamora and Garza. Zamora was the top vote-getter in the county.

Haring said he came out on top Tuesday for one simple reason: He promised voters that his pro-life agenda will be his first legislative priority.

He also said his time in the Texas Legislature earned him voters’ trust.

“I’m the best-qualified candidate,” Haring said.

The outcome surprised Zamora, who said he figured the contest was between him and Mission’s Garza.

Zamora’s tactic for the runoff will be to make a big push to get his supporters back to the polls, particularly in Hidalgo County, where he has the most support. District 15 includes most of Hidalgo County and part of Cameron County, but the fajita-shaped district stretches as far north as DeWitt County.

“We can reach out to supporters of Daniel Garza,” Zamora said. “A lot of his positions are almost identical to mine.”

Before the runoff in April, it is imperative the Hidalgo County Elections Department present a full report on the errors that prompted election workers to manually tally Republican votes rather than relying on a software program, said Hollis Rutledge, the chairman of the county’s Republican Party.

“It’s obviously not acceptable,” Rutledge said. “It may be that the (vote) count is correct, but we need to find out exactly how they finally, supposedly, rectified the problem.”

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Sean Gaffney covers business, the economy and general assignments for The Monitor. He can be reached at (956) 683-4434.

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U.S. House District 15 Republican Primary

>> Paul Haring: 41.9% (5,387 votes)

>> Eddie Zamora: 32.5% (4,186 votes)

>> Daniel Garza: 25.6% (3,298 votes)