A hotly contested Texas House race is headed to a runoff after no candidate reached an outright majority. Jon Francis and Glenn Rogers will compete for the Republican nomination in House District 60.
Francis, a small businessman and longtime activist, has been endorsed by Texans for Fiscal Responsibility, Texas Right to Life, and the incumbent State Rep. Mike Lang (who forewent a re-election campaign in favor of running for Hood County Commissioner).
Francis will face off against second-place finisher Glenn Rogers, a rancher and veterinarian, who touted his support for taxpayer-funded lobbying and his opposition to constitutional carry on the campaign trail.
Also competing in the race were Hood County activist Kellye SoRelle and former Mineral Wells Mayor Chris Perricone.
Francis finished first in the primary but fell short of the 50 percent threshold necessary to win the GOP nomination outright. The final tally was 45.9 percent for Francis to Glenn Rogers’ 43.78 percent—a difference of 712 votes.
SoRelle and Perricone combined for just over 10 percent of the vote.
Shortly after the race was called, SoRelle offered her endorsement for Francis in a Facebook post.
“I would like to give my unequivocal support and endorsement to Jon Francis. He and I do not always see eye-to-eye on every issue, but he has approached this process with integrity, and I believe he is more prepared than Dr. Rogers to represent the people of District 60,” she said in a Facebook post.
Francis posted the following statement:
“We won tonight and we will win again in the May runoff. We need every one of our supporters to double up our efforts to ensure we keep conservative representation in House District 60. I look forward to engaging with Glenn Rogers in public debates throughout HD-60 in the coming months. This race is between the Austin establishment and grassroots conservatives. The distinction will be evident, and the choice for voters to make will be abundantly clear.”
The Republican primary runoff election will be held on May 26, with early voting preceding that date.
