Former lobbyist Josh Winegarner and former White House physician Ronny Jackson emerged from a crowded primary on Tuesday night to claim spots in the May runoff to replace North Texas U.S. Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Clarendon).

Tuesday night’s results showed Winegarner and Jackson advancing to the runoff with 40 percent and 20 percent, respectively. Businessman Chris Ekstrom narrowly missed the runoff with 15 percent, with all other candidates in the single digits.

The primary began to heat up last week, with Winegarner releasing attack ads mostly targeting Jackson. Jackson’s endorsement by President Trump on Friday night is believed to have helped stabilize his Election Day numbers in some areas of the district.

Following the results of the race, several of the former primary candidates announced their support for Jackson’s campaign. On Wednesday, Monique Worthy and Vance Snider endorsed Jackson and asked their primary voters to do the same.

Meanwhile, Democrats will also have a runoff to choose their nominee for the seat, with office manager Gus Trujillo and retiree Greg Sagan advancing to the runoff. 

The runoff elections are on May 26.

Thomas Warren

Thomas Warren, III is the editor-in-chief of the Amarillo Pioneer newspaper in Amarillo, Texas.

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