Amid a slew of important races in Tuesday’s statewide primary election, two Republican candidates will face off to determine the GOP nominee for Texas Land Commissioner.
Former State Sen. Dawn Buckingham was the top vote-getter in the Tuesday Republican primary election for the position and will face second-place finisher Army veteran Dr. Tim Westley in a runoff, because none of the eight candidates in the race collected more than 50 percent of the votes.
The Land Commissioner runs the Texas General Land Office, which “manages state lands, operates the Alamo, helps Texans recovering from natural disasters, helps fund Texas public education through the Permanent School Fund, provides benefits to Texas Veterans, and manages the vast Texas coast.”
One of the foremost recent controversies at the GLO was their “reimagine the Alamo” plan; current Land Commissioner George P. Bush faced public backlash across the state after unveiling proposed changes to the historic battleground site. Texas Scorecard recently interviewed the Republican land commissioner candidates on that and other GLO-related issues, including border security.
Buckingham secured front runner status early in her race when she was endorsed by former President Donald Trump. However, the field was crowded, and in the end, she failed to collect a majority of the votes.
Buckingham and Westley will face off May 24, then the winner will compete against the Democrat nominee — who is also yet to be determined pending their runoff election — for the Commissioner position in November.
