WASHINGTON CO. ELECTION RESULTS – TEGELER, HANATH, CHISOLM, SCHONEFELD HEADED FOR RUNOFF; DISMUKES & JOHNSON WIN SEATS
Washington County is headed for a runoff in two out of the four races for the March Republican primary election.
The county judge and Precinct 2 commissioner seats will be voted on once again on May 26th, while the Precinct 3 commissioner and Precinct 2 justice of the peace positions were decided on Tuesday.
For county judge, Brad Tegeler tallied the most votes at 3,073. He will face Kirk Hanath in the runoff, after Hanath secured 2,434 votes. Douglas Cone attained 1,958 votes.
Tegeler said he is encouraged to see the turnout indicating a desire to see a “fresh set of eyes” in the position, and he looks forward to hitting the ground running and earning the votes of constituents in May.
Hanath said he feels he is in a good position for May and will continue to center his campaign on what Washington County excels in and how it is planning for the years ahead.
Cone submitted a written statement to KWHI, which read, “I would like to thank Washington County for allowing me to serve as Justice of the Peace for Precinct 2 for nearly 30 years and for the support I received during my campaign for Washington County Judge. The outcome of the last night’s election was not my chosen path but I am grateful for all those that invested their trust in my candidacy. Our campaign may be over but the message we sent will carry forward. I’ll keep working in the runoff election to see that the priorities I championed will remain a concern: support for our law enforcement, volunteer fire departments, preserving our water and making sure our county is transparent. Washington County is a special place, and I will continue making sure the values we all cherish are preserved. Congratulations to all those individuals that made that bold move and put their names on the ballot, and congratulations to those that have advanced in their campaigns. Thank you and may God continue blessing Washington County.”
Moving to the Precinct 2 commissioner’s race, Jim Chisolm and Mark Schonefeld will face each other in the runoff, after earning 664 votes and 523 votes, respectively. Amanda Klehm came in third at 485 votes, while William “Bubba” Herrin received 386 votes.
Chisolm said he is “ecstatic” with the results and is eager to show to voters in May what he can bring to the table on the commissioners court.
Schonefeld said he was happy with the clean race run by each of the candidates and that he feels the issues of public safety and prioritizing the county’s future generations resonated with voters.
Herrin said she is thankful for the opportunity to have run and is appreciative of all of the encouragement and support she was given. She hopes that whomever is elected places a strong emphasis on keeping the public educated and informed.
KWHI is working on contacting Herrin for comment.
Looking at Precinct 3 commissioner, Chad Dismukes won election with 1,213 votes to Gil Janner’s 1,017.
Dismukes said now comes time to await the results from the May election, and he plans to be deeply involved in the coming months. He thanked all those who have supported him along this journey and said both he and Janner ran strong campaigns.
Janner congratulated Dismukes on a job well done and thanked him for running a clean campaign. He wished him well in representing Precinct 3 and in tackling important issues like the budget and property taxes, public safety, roads, and water rights.
Finally, Holly Johnson will be the next officeholder for Precinct 2 justice of the peace, winning her race against Travis Semora with 1,236 votes to Semora’s 715.
Johnson said she appreciates all of the support received and the level of participation in the election. She is excited for the future of the office and the ability to build upon what she has learned in order to serve the public.
KWHI is attempting to reach out to Semora for comment.
Washington County also had several candidates who did not have an opponent in this primary election. They are:
- Precinct 4 Commissioner – Dustin Majewski
- County Clerk – Nicholas Prenzler (following retirement of Beth Rothermel)
- District Clerk – Carli Koehne (following resignation of Kimberly Boyce)
- County Court at Law Judge – Eric Berg
- County Treasurer – Peggy Kramer
- Justice of the Peace Precinct 1 – Scott Atwood (Douglas Zwiener did not seek re-election)
- Justice of the Peace Precinct 3 – Duane “Dane” Houston
- Justice of the Peace Precinct 4 – Harold C. “Buddy” Riddle
All local candidates will be unopposed in the November election.
For U.S. Congressional District 27, Republican incumbent Michael Cloud received 3,674 votes in Washington County to Chris Hatley’s 2,426. As of early this (Wednesday) morning, according to the Texas Secretary of State's website, Cloud had 72 percent of votes across the district and appears to be the Republican nominee. On the Democratic side, Tanya Lloyd obtained 1,092 votes, while Eustaquio “Stock” Castro-Mendoza accrued 238 and Wayne Raasch received 164. Lloyd had 63 percent of votes across the district early today and looks poised to face off against Cloud in the November election.
According to unofficial totals from the Washington County Elections Office, 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.