SEE HOW WASHINGTON CO. VOTED FOR U.S. SENATE, STATEWIDE RACES
Washington County’s votes in the March primary on Tuesday largely aligned with much of the state of Texas, though there was some variance in races of note.
According to unofficial results, the county’s picks for state positions including governor, lieutenant governor, comptroller, railroad commissioner and general land office commissioner were mostly in line with the state’s overall winners. However, the U.S. Senate, Texas Attorney General and Texas Agriculture Commissioner races saw some differences between the local and statewide results.
In the U.S. Senate race, Republican incumbent John Cornyn was the top vote-getter with 3,101 votes, followed by Ken Paxton in second with 2,766 and Wesley Hunt in third with 1,102. Cornyn also received the most votes statewide, but he and Paxton are advancing to a runoff on May 26th. The winner will face Democrat James Talarico, who won the party’s nomination statewide but lost Washington County by a close margin to Jasmine Crockett, who received 858 votes in comparison to Talarico’s 812.
The Republican race for Texas Attorney General was tight in Washington County, with Chip Roy leading the local count at 2,247 votes, Mayes Middleton in second at 2,221, Joan Huffman in third at 1,183, and Aaron Reitz in fourth at 1,155. Middleton led the state, but he and Roy will advance to a runoff, as will Nathan Johnson and Joe Jaworski, who received the most votes on the Democratic ticket. Johnson led the state, but Jaworski took Washington County with 589 votes to Johnson’s 509 and Anthony Box’s 400.
For Agriculture Commissioner, Republican incumbent Sid Miller claimed Washington County with 4,059 votes to Nate Sheets’ 2,458. However, it was Sheets who ultimately earned the party’s nomination. Sheets will face Clayton Tucker in November after Tucker was unopposed on the Democratic ticket.
Governor Greg Abbott and Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick easily secured the Republican Party’s nominations statewide and in Washington County, with the two receiving local vote counts of 5,946 and 5,984, respectively. The next-highest vote getters were Pete “Doc” Chamber’s in the governor’s race with 904 votes and lieutenant governor candidate Timoty Mabry with 642 votes. On the Democratic side, Gina Hinojosa won the party’s nomination and had 820 votes in Washington County, with Chris Bell coming in second place with 239 votes. As for Lieutenant Governor, Democrat Vikki Goodwin led Washington County with 879 votes, while Courtney Head was second with 374 votes. Goodwin may be headed for a runoff with a third candidate in the race, Marcos Isaias Velez.
For Comptroller of Public Accounts, Don Huffines (Huh-fines) led Washington County and the state as a whole, receiving 3,012 votes locally en route to securing the party’s nomination over the second-place vote-getter, Kelly Hancock, who obtained 2,145 Washington County votes. Huffines will go up in November against Sarah Eckhardt, who won the Democratic Party’s nomination and obtained 972 votes locally. Statewide, Savant Moore finished second, but Michael Lange was second in Washington County with 339 votes.
The Railroad Commissioner’s race will see Republican incumbent Jim Wright and Bo French head to a runoff. Wright received the most votes in Washington County at 2,225, but James (Jim) Matlock had the second-most locally at 1,489, while French was third with 1,090. Democrat Jon Rosenthal was unopposed in the primary.
Similarly, for General Land Office Commissioner, Republican incumbent Dawn Buckingham did not have an opponent, so she will face off in November against Democrat Benjamin Flores. Locally, Flores received 956 votes over Josa Loya’s 496.
Unofficial totals from the county show a total of 9,366 ballots were cast during the election, including 6,273 in early voting, 2,900 on Election Day and 193 absentee. Of those, 7,653 votes were cast by Republicans and 1,713 by Democrats.
The county lists 25,617 registered voters, meaning the county saw a voter turnout of 36.56 percent. Results are considered unofficial until they are canvassed.