Texas voters went to the polls Tuesday to finish selecting their parties’ nominees for the November general election.
Only a handful of Republican primary runoff races were on the ballot in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex area.
Two judicial candidates endorsed by Texans for Courageous Courts won their races to become the GOP nominees.
George Flint won the runoff for judge of the open 401st District Court bench in Collin County by a 69-31 percent margin over Sarah Fox.
Jim Johnson defeated Derbha Jones with 62 percent of the vote for judge of the 431st District Court in Denton County, another open seat.
Flint and Johnson will face Democrat opponents in November, but Collin and Denton are both solidly Republican counties.
In Kaufman County, Shelton Gibbs IV beat Chad Johnson for judge of the 422nd District Court 61-39 percent. No Democrat is running, so Gibbs will replace retiring Judge Mike Chitty, whose ruling in the Drake Pardo case authorized CPS to remove the child from his family home for up to a year.
Brian Walker won the runoff for Place 7 on the 2nd Court of Appeals, which serves 12 North Texas counties, including Denton and Tarrant, defeating Elizabeth Beach by a 64-36 percent margin.
Fort Worth voters approved a 10-year extension of a half-cent sales tax to fund the city’s Crime Control and Prevention District with 64 percent support. The CCPD was budgeted to collect $81 million in sales taxes this year to spend on policing, on top of the Fort Worth Police Department’s $267 million budget.
In the race for Ellis County sheriff, incumbent Chuck Edge lost to challenger Brad Norman, drawing 41 percent of the vote. With no Democrat opponent in November, Norman will be the next sheriff.
Wood County Sheriff Tom Castloo lost with 31 percent of the vote to challenger Kelly Cole, who is also unopposed in the general election.
Dallas County had only Democrat runoffs.
In the 24th Congressional District, centered along the Dallas-Tarrant county line, Democrat Candace Valenzuela won her party’s nomination over Kim Olson and will face Republican Beth Van Duyne in November.
In area Texas legislative races, challenger Bryan Slaton defeated nine-term incumbent State Rep. Dan Flynn in House District 2, which includes the counties of Hopkins, Hunt, and Van Zandt. Jon Francis narrowly lost to Glenn Rogers for the open House District 60 seat in Tarrant County. Texans for Fiscal Responsibility endorsed Slaton and Francis.
The primary runoff elections were originally set for May 26 but were delayed by Gov. Greg Abbott until July 14 as part of his Chinese coronavirus shutdown orders.
Overall turnout in the primary runoffs, which traditionally draw low participation, wasn’t dampened by coronavirus concerns.
Abbott doubled the number of in-person voting days from five to 10 to minimize crowding at the polls, and the Texas Secretary of State’s office issued detailed health protocols for voters and elections officials.
Turnout was generally higher among Democrats, who had two statewide runoff races on their ballots. They chose MJ Hegar over Dallas-area State Sen. Royce West as their challenger to U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, and Chrysta Castaneda to face Republican James Wright for Railroad Commissioner..
Runoff winners will complete in the November 3 general election. Due to coronavirus closures, local elections normally held in May were also delayed and will be on the November ballot.
Below are unofficial results from the July 14 elections:
Collin County
- 401st District Court Judge: George Flint* (69%); Sarah Fox (31%)
Denton County
- 2nd Court of Appeals, Place 7 Justice**: Brian Walker (64%); Elizabeth Beach (36%)
- 431st District Court Judge: Jim Johnson* (62.5%); Derbha Jones (37.5%)
Ellis County
- Sheriff: Brad Norman (59%); Chuck Edge[I] (41%)
Kaufman County
- 422nd District Court Judge: Shelton Gibbs IV (61%); Chad Johnson (39%)
Tarrant County
- 2nd Court of Appeals, Place 7 Justice**: Brian Walker (64%); Elizabeth Beach (36%)
- City of Fort Worth Proposition A: Sales tax extension: For (64%); Against (36%)
Wood County
- Sheriff: Kelly Cole (69%); Tom Castloo[I] (31%)
Texas Legislature
- House District 2 State Representative: Bryan Slaton* (61%); Dan Flynn[I] (39%)
- House District 60 State Representative: Glenn Rogers (51%); Jon Francis* (49%)
[I]= Incumbent
*= Endorsed by Texans For Fiscal Responsibility/Texans For Courageous Courts
**= Results reflect totals from all 12 counties served by the 2nd Court of Appeals (Archer, Clay, Cooke, Denton, Hood, Jack, Montague, Parker, Tarrant, Wichita, Wise, Young)
