WASHINGTON CO. ELECTION RESULTS – WHARTON & McCAUL WIN SEATS TO STATE HOUSE AND U.S. CONGRESS; TRUMP, CRUZ WIN COUNTY & STATE
Washington County voted in line with much of the state of Texas on Tuesday, keeping Texas solidly Republican.
Washington County had no locally contested races, as all county-specific races were decided in the March primary. However, in the regional races such as State Representative District 12, U.S. Congressional District 10 and State Board of Education District 10, the Republican candidates on the ballot – Trey Wharton, Michael McCaul and Tom Maynard – handily won their respective races.
Wharton defeated Democrat Dee Howard Mullins and will fill the State House seat held by Republican Kyle Kacal, who did not seek re-election. According to the Secretary of State’s website, Wharton obtained 64.4 percent of the vote and won all six counties in the district. In Washington County, Wharton secured 14,097 votes to 3,576 for Mullins.
McCaul won an 11th term in U.S. Congress, besting Democrat Theresa Boisseau and Libertarian Jeff Miller. McCaul received 66.9 percent of the district’s vote, winning 12 of the 13 counties; Williamson County went to Boisseau. For Washington County, McCaul took in 14,107 votes to Boisseau’s 3,454 and Miller’s 335.
Maynard, who has served on the State Board of Education since 2013, wins another term after beating Democrat Raquel Saenz Ortiz. Maynard had 63.3 percent of the vote and won all of the 27 counties in the district. That includes Washington County, where Maynard received 13,940 votes to Ortiz’ 3,673.
At the top of the ballot in the president’s race, Republicans Donald Trump and JD Vance received 14,012 votes in Washington County enroute to winning the state, while the Democratic ticket of Kamala Harris and Tim Walz received 4,045. The Libertarian candidates, Chase Oliver and Mike ter Maat, obtained 99 votes, and the Green Party candidates, Jill Stein and Rudolph Ware, had 31.
Republican U.S. Senator Ted Cruz won re-election for a third term over Democrat Colin Allred and Libertarian Ted Brown. In Washington County specifically, Cruz received 13,578 votes, with Allred taking in 4,227 votes and Brown bringing in 314.
Another race was for Railroad Commissioner, and Republican incumbent Christi Craddick, first elected in 2012, won re-election. In Washington County, Craddick had 13,692 votes to Democrat Katherine Culbert’s 3,497, Libertarian Hawk Dunlap’s 419, and Green Party Eddie Espinoza’s 146.
Local candidates who were unopposed on the ballot, all Republicans, include 21st District Court Judge Carson Campbell; 335th District Court Judge John D. Winkelmann; 21st District Attorney Derek Estep; County Attorney Renee Mueller; District Clerk Kimberley Boyce, filling the unexpired term of Tammy Brauner; Sheriff Trey Holleway; Tax Assessor-Collector Cheryl Gaskamp; Precinct 1 Commissioner Misti Hartstack Corn; Precinct 3 Commissioner Kirk Hanath; and Precinct 1-4 Constables Ken Holle, Seth Klehm, Brad Kuecker and Greg Rolling.
Unofficial results from the Washington County Elections Office show a total of 18,322 ballots were cast out of a total of 25,708 registered voters, for a turnout of 71.27 percent. That includes 14,456 early votes, 3,322 on Election Day and 544 absentee.