Less than 36% cast local ballots

By Melinda L. Lucas

Incumbent commissioner Steve Riley kept his seat in Shackelford County’s precinct 1, fending off challenger Bobby Williams in Tuesday’s Republican primary election.

Riley garnered 39 percent of the 212 ballots cast in precinct 1, where there are 543 registered voters. He will not face any Democratic opposition in the general election in November.

Several other local incumbent candidates, including district attorney Joe Edd Boaz, sheriff Edward Miller, and commissioner Lanham Martin, were unopposed on the Republican primary ballot. 

Rollin Rauschl was unopposed for retiring county attorney Colton Johnson’s position.

A total of 824, slightly under 36 percent, of the county’s 2,300 registered voters turned out for the elections, with all but 54 of those casting ballots on the Republican side.

County voters followed the statewide trends in most elections, with the exception of the race for State Representative of District 60. Local Republicans gave Dr. Glenn Rogers of Graford a majority with 57 percent, while district-wide, Jon Francis of Cisco was slightly ahead with almost 46 percent of the vote. The two are headed for a May runoff.

U.S. Representative Jodey Arrington was overwhelmingly reelected, with 92 percent of the county vote and almost 90 percent over District 19, defeating challenger Vance Boyd.