After Election Night Counting Malfunctions, Fayette County Voters Finally Have Their Say
Vandever and Homan Headed for Run-Off; Sternadel Prevails
It took a long wait, but unofficial results from the Fayette County primary elections finally arrived about 20 hours after the polls closed.
Fayette County Elections Administrator Donna Macik said an equipment malfunction caused the delay. The ballots were finally counted around 4 p.m. on Wednesday, and unofficial results show the County Judge race heading to a runoff.
Josh Vandever led that race with about 38.21 percent of the vote. Josh Homan came in second with 27.21 percent. Since neither won a majority, they will face each other in the Republican Primary runoff on May 26. No Democrats ran for County Judge this year, so the runoff will decide who becomes the next Fayette County Judge.
Here’s the unofficial vote total from the five candidates:
Candidate Pct. Votes J. Vandever 38.21% 2,226 J. Homan 27.21% 1,585 Wm. Bernsen 18.39% 1,071 C. Moreau 8.21% 478 M. Zweschper 7.98% 456 The Record spoke to Vandever and Homan on Wednesday, and here’s what they had to say about the election.
“I want to say how appreciative I am for all the people who went out and voted, for all the people who supported our campaign either financially or just with words of support, and to my wife and family for all of the strength and comfort they’ve provided,” Vandever said. “That means an incredible amount to my family and I, to have that support.”
“Second of all, to all the volunteers who stayed out until two, three o’clock in the morning working at the elections office, trying to work through the problems that they had with the equipment – we wouldn’t be able to have free and fair elections if it weren’t for those people,” Vandever added. “And a lot of them are doing it out of the goodness of their hearts and as a result of a deep sense of civic responsibility. So our hearts and appreciation go out to them, our republic depends on them.”
“As far as the other candidates – It takes a lot of courage to put yourself on the ballot and step up to volunteer to lead in elected office,” he said. “So to all the people who ran, I think you’re all deserving of a little bit of our respect and admiration for putting themselves out there.”
“I look forward to continuing to run a clean campaign about the issues and talking about my record of service, not only in Fayette County, but in general,” Vandever said. “I am committed to continuing a fair and dignified campaign, and to being victorious in the runoff.”
Homan echoed those sentiments in his reaction: “I’m appreciative of everybody who voted for our campaign and everybody who helped along the way, whether it was family, friends, you know, strangers who are now acquaintances and even friends,” Homan said. “It was really a team effort, and I think that’s the name of the game, and it’s not just a political thing. It’s really true – it takes a team to get this election done and it’ll take a team to do what we need to do for Fayette County. So for those reasons I am honored to make the runoff.
“I’m very thankful to those who helped us get there,” Homan added. “But at the end of the day – it really is not a cliche – this is about common sense leadership, integrity and putting the County first. I’ll do that as county judge and I’m looking forward to the runoff.
“I also congratulate the other candidates,” Homan said. “I think we, as candidates, can be proud that there was not much mud-slinging or certainly not that I was aware of. I think the other candidates ran a clean race, and I thank them for that. And I look forward to the runoff.
“I think having five candidates is a good thing for the County,” he added. ”Really, it was a good competition. I think that’s healthy.”
The only other contested election in Fayette County was the three-way Republican Primary race for Pct. 2 Commissioner. Clint Sternadel won that race outright with 52.71 percent of the vote.
His opponents were Chad Tiemann, who finished with 40.66 percent, and Abe Pace, who placed third with 6.63 percent.
Here’s what Sternadel said about his victory after the results came in on Wednesday: “I want to thank the voters of Pct. 2 for their trust and support, and I’m incredibly grateful for the confidence they’ve placed in me to continue serving as their county commissioner,” Sternadel said. “This campaign has always been about the future of our county and responsible growth and strong infrastructure, and the leadership that listens. I’m proud of the conversations we’ve had over the past several months, and sincerely thankful to have this opportunity to serve.”
In the U.S. Senate race, State Rep. James Talarico defeated U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett in the Democratic primary.
On the Republican side, the race will head to a runoff between incumbent John Cornyn (41.73%) and challenger Ken Paxton (40.99%).
In state-wide races, Governor Greg Abbott and Lt. Governor Dan Patrick easily won re-election, each with over 80 percent of the vote. Don Huffines will be the next State Comptroller. He won with 57 percent of the vote. Nate Sheets defeated the President Trump-endorsed incumbent, Sid Miller, for Agriculture Commissioner with 52.55 percent of the vote.
A tight race for the Railroad Commissioner seat appears to be headed to a runoff between incumbent Jim Wright and Bo French, who each collected a little over 31 percent.
The Fayette County vote largely mirrored statewide results with one notable exception: the Republican race for Texas Agriculture Commissioner.
Voters here picked incumbent Sid Miller by a wide margin – 58.81 percent for Miller vs. 41.19 percent for Nate Sheets. The story was the same in many rural counties across the state.
However, Sheets overwhelmingly defeated Miller in urban counties, and that carried him to victory. This indicates a strong rural-urban divide in matters related to agriculture policy.