Herbrich, Schlabach Among Big Election Day Winners

James Herbrich will be the next County Attorney for Fayette County.

Herbrich easily won the Republican Primary election on Tuesday, March 5, with more than three-quarters of the vote, according to unofficial results. He will not face an opponent in the November general election. The vote count was 4,095 for Herbrich versus 1,256 for his opponent, Mark Elvig.

“I’d like to thank all my supporters and everyone who contributed,” Herbrich said. “We ran a clean campaign and are very pleased with the results. Growing up in this community has meant the most to me. I came home to live here and make a difference.”

Herbrich, who currently serves as an assistant county attorney here, will replace his boss Peggy Supak, who did not run for re-election this year. Supak is the only Democrat currently serving office, having held her post since 2005, when the political makeup of Fayette County was much different than today.

“I don’t anticipate on making many changes,” Herbrich said. “I think we do a really great job and I want to continue the legacy Ms. Supak has created.”

Herbrich said Supak has agreed to remain on his team until the office is fully staffed.

In other local elections, all of three of the incumbent constables who faced challengers this year won re-election. Pct. 2 Constable Roger Wunderlich won his race against Kenneth King with nearly 87 percent of the vote. The count was 1,294 for Wunderlich versus 197 for King. Pct. 3 Constable Robert Chambers won re-election against challenger Darrell Maze with over 60 percent of the vote. The county was 672 for Chambers versus 437 for Maze.

In the Pct. 4 Constable race, incumbent Jason Strickland won with about 55.6 percent of the vote. His challenger, Tammy “TJ Mac” Mc-Cleney, was leading by seven votes in early voting. Election day results pushed Strickland into the lead. The final count was 792 for Strickland versus 632 for McCleney.

Perhaps the most surprising local election was the Fayette County Republican Party Chair race. Incumbent Deborah Frank, who has held the office since 2018, lost to challenger Michael Schlabach. The count was 2,926 (61.35%) for Schlabach versus 1,843 (38.65%) for Frank.

In an interview with the Record Wednesday morning, Schlabach thanked voters for their support. He said he was surprised by the final tally.

“I thought I had a chance but I did not realize I would win by that much,” he said.

Schlabach said he wants to unify Republicans in Fayette County.

“The office will be run fairly,” he added. “Everyone presently elected will be treated with respect and have their voices heard. Anybody who wants to run in the party will be given equal opportunity. All of the Republican voters in Fayette County will have a voice in what’s going on.”

Nearly 35 percent of eligible voters in Fayette County participated in the Primary Election. About 14.5 percent voted early or cast mail-in ballots. Fayette County Elections Administrator Terri Hefner reported no major problems with voting. Election officials worked until around midnight on Tuesday counting and verifying the results.

In federal and statewide elections, Fayette County largely mirrored the rest of Texas. Donald Trump won the Republican Primary for President with nearly 82 percent of the vote in Fayette County. Trump gathered about 77.9 percent of the vote statewide. Ted Cruz easily won the Republican primary for U.S. Senator, with nearly 91 percent in Fayette County and 88 percent statewide.

Incumbent Michael Mc-Caul won the Republican primary for his U.S. Congressional seat against challenger Jared Lovelace. State representative Stan Kitzman prevailed over challenger Tim Greeson.