Local runoff returns mostly mirrored state results

The final Primary runoff results from last week’s election were to late for last week’s edition. Turnout was reported at just 4 percent in the county with 347 of 8,340 voters casting a ballot.
There 282 votes cast in Wilbarger County during the Republican Primary runoff, with two undervotes. There were 95 votes cast on election day, 85 in early voting, and 100 by absentee ballot.
Incumbent Ken Paxton had 191 of the county votes to 89 for George P. Bush in the runoff for Attorney General. Dawn Buckingham, a state senator from Lakeway, had a 176 to 95 advantage over Tim Westley for nominee for Commissioner for General land Office. Incumbent Wayne Christian had 217 votes to 60 for Sarah Stogner for nominee for Railroad Commission.
The local results mirrored statewide results. Christian had 65 percent of the vote statewide over Stogner and Buckingham garnered 68.8 percent for the nomination. Paxton had 67.9 percent statewide in a landslide over Bush.
In his victory speech, Paxton told supporters to turn their attention to the November general election when Republicans have to hold onto statewide offices and win back Congress: We have to sweep and we have to control these elections because going forward, I promise you this, it is Texas that’s going to decide the future. When they write the history books about this period of time, I believe they’re going to write about Texas, and they’re going to talk about how Texas stood strong, led the rest of the country, fought back the Biden administration, saved the Constitution and saved the country.”
There were 65 votes cast in Wilbarger County during the Democratic Primary runoff, with one undervote. 12 votes were cast election day, 14 during early voting and 38 by absentee ballot.
For Lt. Governor, Mike Collier received 52 votes to 12 for Michelle Beckley. For Attorney General, Jay Jaworski received 38 votes to 26 for Rochelle Garza. Janet Dudding received 39 votes to Angel Vega for Comptroller of Public Accounts. Jay Kleburg received 41 votes to 23 for Sandragrace Martinez in the race for nominee for Commissioner for General land Office.
Collier won with 54.8 percent of the vote. Collier will get a rematch against Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick this fall. Four years ago he lost to the incumbent by 4 percentage points in the same race.
Kleburg, the former associate director of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation, had 52.9 percent for the Land Commissioner nomination.
Local voters differed from the rest of Texas on just one statewide race. Garza, a former American Civil Liberties Union lawyer from Brownsville, lost in Wilbarger County, she beat Jaworski, former mayor of Galveston, statewide with 62.6 percent of the vote for nominee for attorney general.
“I decided to run for Texas Attorney General to fight for Texas families, protect our freedoms and keep our communities safe. Indicted Ken Paxton is corrupt and unfit to hold public office and cares more about lobbyists and donors than the lives of our children,” Garza said.