Texas Primary Election Results - Local, State, and National Races

(New Braunfels, TX) --  The votes are in following yesterday’s Primary election which saw, here in Comal County, a total of 15,213 votes cast, good for just over 20% turnout locally.  And here are the results:

Comal County Sheriff Bob Holder (left) handily won reelection to his 5^th term in office, defeating challenger Joshua Dean.  Holder ended the night with 8,585 votes, good for 67% of the vote, while Dean ended with 4,303 votes or 37%.  And since there is no challenger from the Democrats, Holder will remain the Sheriff for Comal County for another 4 year term.

In the Pct. 1 Commissioners Court race, incumbent Donna Eccleston (left) also won reelection, taking 2,570 votes, good for 64% of the total vote over her challenger, Doug Kirk, who took 1,417 votes, or 36%.  Eccleston also will not face an opponent in the November election, and will begin her 2nd term in office in January.

Pct. 1 Constable Ben Scroggin also was reelected by an overwhelming majority of the votes, taking 2,839 votes or 73%.  Challenger Ray Williams took 1,039 votes or 27%.

But there was an upset last night in the Pct. 2 Constables race.  Incumbent Kenneth Smith looked like he might be in a run-off following a 4-way race for his seat until challenger Mark Cheatum pulled ahead and took 1,723 votes, good for 51% of the vote, which is enough to avoid a runoff and to win the seat outright.  Smith ended the night with 961 votes (or 29%), while Michael Hammes took 11%, and Joe Soane the other 10%.  So Mark Cheatum will be the new Pct. 2 Constable here in Comal County.

Moving on to the 22nd Judicial District race, which also featured 4 candidates for the judge’s position being left vacant by the retiring Judge Charles Ramsay.  And it would appear that former New Braunfels Mayor Bruce Boyer (left) has won that race outright, although we will reserve final judgment until the final numbers from Caldwell County are released.  Those results have so far been unavailable, and could potentially turn the outright win for Boyer into a runoff election between Boyer and State Attorney General prosecutor David Glickler.  At the end of the night, after securing more than 9,400 votes in Comal and Hays County, Boyer’s total topped the 50% mark while Glickler ended with about 23%.  San Marcos attorney Ronnie Dickens ended with 16%, and New Braunfels attorney David Nigh took 11% of the vote.  So again, Caldwell County’s results may change the outcome, but as it stands right now, Boyer appears to have avoided a runoff and will become the next judge for the 22nd Judicial District.

On to some of the state races that we were watching last night:

Incumbent State Representative for Dist. 73 Doug Miller (right) handily won reelection, taking 75% of the total vote with 16,990 votes spread across Comal, Kendall, Gillespie, and Bandera Counties.  His challenger, Rob Smith, came away with 5,629 votes or 25% of the total vote.  That means Miller will remain the Dist. 73 State Representative and will begin his third term in office in January. 

One of the biggest surprises in yesterday’s election came in the State Senate race for Dist. 25, which will now go to a run off.  After a hard fought, often negative campaign battle between longtime incumbent Senator Jeff Wentworth (left) and former Railroad Commissioner Elizabeth Ames Jones, it was the third candidate, New Braunfels-physician Dr. Donna Campbell (left) that will face Wentworth in a runoff election.  Wentworth ended the night with 36% of the vote, while Campbell took 34%, leaving just 30% for Jones.  So again, Jeff Wentworth will face Dr. Donna Campbell in a runoff election for the Dist. 25 State Senate seat.

Speaking of runoffs, current Pct. 3 County Commissioner Greg Parker (left) has now found himself in a runoff race for the unexpired term on the Texas Railroad Commission.  Incumbent Barry Smitherman was only able to take 43% of the vote yesterday, while Parker took 28% of the vote, pitting the two of them in a run-off for that seat on the Texas Railroad Commission. 

There’s also a now run-off race for US Senate between David Dewhurst and Ted Cruz.  Dewhurst ended the night with 45% of the vote, short of the 50% needed to avoid a runoff.  Cruz ended the night with 34%, which means he will now face Dewhurst in a runoff race for the US Senate seat.

And longtime Congressman for Dist. 21, Lamar Smith (left) easily won the Republican nomination, despite having two opponents in yesterday’s Primary election.  Smith took 77% of the vote over Richard Mack and Richard Morgan who had 15% and 8% respectively.  Smith will now face Democrat Candace Duvall in the November General Election after Duvall won her party’s nomination in yesterday’s primary over Daniel Boone, taking 61% of the vote over Boone’s 39%.

If you missed any of the results that we have mentioned here, you can find those results posted on our website, kgnb.am.  And in the coming days we’ll be talking with many of these candidates about their wins, their losses, or their upcoming run-off elections.  So stay tuned to KGNB News for much more.