USA Today: Texas primary tidbits: Greg Abbott, Beto O’Rourke, Donald Trump, party in-fighting

WASHINGTON – As the Russian military rolled toward Kyiv and President Joe Biden delivered his State of the Union address, the state of Texas held elections that offered previews of intense fall campaigns nationwide.

The Texas primary generated a big-time governor’s race; problems with new election laws that make voting harder; a focus by both parties on Hispanic voters; a struggle for the Bush political dynasty; battles between liberal and more traditional Democrats; and success for both pro-Trump candidates and Trump skeptics. …

A new Republican-produced voting law, which includes ID requirements and procedures for mail-in voting, created problems that could augur chaos in the fall. Other states have approved similar restrictions.

“We saw vote-by-mail applications and ballots rejected at unprecedented rates, poll sites opening late or not opening at all due to election worker shortages, and widespread technology issues,” said Anthony Gutierrez, executive director of Common Cause Texas.

Calling for federal action, Gutierrez said it won’t get any easier for Texas or other states: “These issues we’re seeing today will be far bigger problems in November when we have exponentially more people showing up to the polls.”