Tuesday’s primary elections set up a rematch of the 2020 presidential campaign on a national level, but also brought clarity to how local elections will look in November.
Former president Donald Trump and President Joseph Biden each dominated their primary elections both nationally and in Williamson County, with each taking well over the majority of votes for their respective parties. They will face off for a second time in the Nov. 5 election.
The county reports that 80,248 ballots were cast out of the 427,576 registered voters for the March 5 elections.
The voter turnout was 18.77%.
Voter turnout was significantly lower in Williamson County and the country as a whole when compared to the 2020 primary election.
Then, the county had nearly 30% voter turnout.
Locally on the Republican side, incumbent Pete Sessions received the majority of votes for U.S. representative District 17. Sessions won in a landslide with nearly 77% of the vote over his opponent Joseph T. Lagrone.
Sessions in the Nov. 5 general election will face Democrat Mark Lorenzen.
For state representative District 20, Terry Wilson of the GOP emerged as the victor with 60% of the votes over opponent Elva Janine Chapa.
Democrat Stephen Wyman challenges Wilson on the November ballot.
The Williamson County GOP chair is Michelle Evans after she received 69% of the votes.
For Democrats, the U.S. House District 31 race narrowly missed a runoff election after Stuart Whitlow secured the vote in Williamson County with 53% of the votes.
Taylor resident Rick Von Pfeil and Brian Walbridge claimed 24% and 23% of the votes, respectively. Once all the votes from the five counties in District 31 are tabulated, a runoff is expected between Whitlow and Walbridge. The winner will vie for the seat against incumbent John Carter in November.
The race for state representative District 52 had a tight race between Jennie Birkholz and Angel Carroll. Birkholz received 51% of the votes, while Carroll received 49% of the votes. Birkholz will face Republican incumbent Caroline Harris Davila in November.
For the 3rd Court of Appeals District Place 5, Karin Crump was voted in with 65% of the votes. Thomas J. Baker, her opponent, received 35% of the votes.
A Republican candidate did not file, and Crump will run unopposed in November.
In Precinct 4, the Democratic candidate for constable in November will be Kenneth Guerrero, who defeated Perry Travis.
Guerrero had 60% of the vote to Travis’ 40%. Current Precinct 4 Constable Paul Leal will face Guerrero in November.
For the U.S. Senate seat, Republican Ted Cruz, the incumbent, received more than 85% of the votes, but he’ll face Democrat Colin Allred, who received 63% of the vote in his primary, in November.
A runoff will likely be held for the Republican State Board of Education District 10 between Tom Maynard, who had 49.51% of the vote, and Mary Bone, who had 40.49% of the vote. For the Democratic candidate, Theresa Boisseau was the clear winner over Keith McPhail with 76% of the vote.
Runoff elections for the primary elections will take place May 28.
