Second day of early voting continued to be strong

by Eric

Early voting continued yesterday, Tuesday May 17, 2022 for the Texas Primary Runoffs Elections from the March 1, 2022, Primary Elections. In the early voting roundup from Monday May 16, 2022 there were a total of 128 early votes, 2 on the Democratic ballot and 126 on Republican ballot. For Tuesday’s numbers there was 123 early votes bringing the total for the first two day of early voting to 282. That is one more vote than the first two days of early voting for the March 1, 2022 Primary.

Again this runoff election determines the nominees for the General Mid-Terms Election in November. State law requires in a primary election the candidates from both parties must have a majority of the votes, or basically 50% plus one vote. However, when three or more are running in a contested primary race, some candidates might get a plurality of votes, but not the overall majority, and when that happens it triggers a “Primary Runoff”.

So what began on Monday, May 16, 2022, eligible voters in Terry County are able to vote on the two local Republican Primary Runoffs, which are for County Judge and Justice of the Peace. There are also other state-wide Republican and Democrat runoffs as well. Something to note about primary runoffs is that if you voted in the original primary on certain party ballot, then you can only vote on that same party ballot for the runoff. If a person did not vote in the original primary, then they can vote in either party runoff but not both.

In the Republican Party , Terry County Judge Primary Runoff former Texas Ranger and former Terry County Sheriff Larry Gilbreath and current Brownfield Police Dept. Chief Tony Serbantez will compete for the Republican nomination for the General Election in November. Whoever wins this nomination will have a contested race with Scott Jackson who is the Democratic nominee in the November Mid-Term General Election. In the March 1, 2022, Republican Primary, Serbantez earned 796 votes (a plurality), which was 46.66%. To win, you must have 50% plus one more vote. He will be facing Gilbreath who earned 486 votes, while Geoff Cooper earned 424 votes.

In the Justice of the Peace Primary race, incumbent Judge Angie Garza received 811 votes, or 48.33% of the votes. Only five votes separated her two opponents, which was David Cox having 436 votes, and M.J. Harrell having 431. This sparked Harrell to have a recount, it came back that she had the 431 votes. Judge Garza and Cox will face off and whichever candidate wins will be the Terry County Justice of the Peace and take the oath of office on January 1, 2023, since there is no Democrat on the General Ballot in November.

On the state side for run-offs, there are both Democrats and Republicans. The two Democrats vying to be the nominee for Texas Attorney General are Rochelle Garza & Joe Jaworski. On the Republican side, Texas Attorney General Incumbent Ken Paxton will face off with George P. Bush for the Republican nominee. The Democrats also have a Primary Run-off for the Lieutenant Governor’s office: Michelle Beckley & Mike Collier.

Another Republican Primary Run-off that could have local implications is the Texas Dist. 84 House Seat. Dist. 84 encompasses the majority of the City of Lubbock. The current officeholder John Frullo decided he would retire sparking four candidates to run for this seat. David Glasheen had 41.88% of the vote and Carl Tepper had 40.19% in the March 1, 2022 Primary. Whoever wins this primary will win the seat and most likely work with Dustin Burrows who is Brownfield’s and Terry County’s State Rep.

Early voting for the Primary Run-offs began on Monday, May 16, 2022, and will run through Friday, May 20, 2022. Election Day is Tuesday, May 24, 2022.

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