Most candidates on the ballot will have to wait until November to know for sure if they have won their election, but one local hopeful has already won his election. Barry Johnson, long-time Dallas personal injury lawyer, will be the next district attorney of McLennan County.
What was originally a crowded field has now narrowed to a lone candidate after two candidates dropped out of the race. Independent candidate Daniel Hare withdrew from the race after discovering a filing error in his campaign, and Democrat Seth Sutton officially withdrew his candidacy on Monday, though he halted his campaign in February.
Sutton’s formal withdrawal comes after a meeting between he and Johnson, in which Sutton said the two “found more similarities than difference” and further added that he “[has] confidence that Johnson will do a fine job in restoring a sense of justice to our county.”
Johnson ousted incumbent District Attorney Abel Reyna in the Republican primary in March. Reyna, dogged by the now-infamous Twin Peaks scandal, has faced accusations of corruption during his tenure.
Because of this scandal, some saw a chance for Democrats to make a serious run at the office. This, however, was not meant to be.
In preparation for taking office in January, Johnson says he’s planning to meet with district attorneys in similarly sized counties, like Lubbock. Upon taking office, he claims he will run the McLennan County District Attorney’s Office like a “well-oiled machine.”
When asked how he felt about running unopposed, Johnson said, “You run one of two ways. You run unopposed or scared. So we much prefer the solo route.”
