Homan Wins County Judge Cliffhanger

Josh Homan defeated Josh Vandever by the narrowest of margins in the Republican Primary Runoff for Fayette County Judge.

According to unofficial results from the Fayette County Elections Office, Homan prevailed by just 14 votes – 2,298 to 2,284. No Democrats ran for County Judge this year, so there will not be a contested General Election in November. Pending any surprise changes in the election result, Homan will be sworn in as the new Fayette County Judge on Jan. 1, 2027.

“I take the trust that the voters put in me very seriously, and I’m looking forward to serving the County,” Homan told the Record Wednesday morning.

Homan said he watched the election results with a few friends and family at Henry K’s in Flatonia on election night.

“We had some good food, some good company, and we were there bringing it in until the results were published,” Homan said. “We celebrated a little bit, and then I think everybody started thinking about what they had to do this morning. So we headed home, and of course our two little kids don’t let us get away with too much, but it was great.”

Josh Vandever congratulated Homan on his victory in a statement shortly after midnight.

“I’m a little heartbroken aboutthelossbutI’msograteful for so many things,” Vandever told the Record Wednesday morning. “(My wife) Kristen, our sweet kids, our family, and our friends, both old and new, worked really hard for us to be able to serve Fayette County as its Judge. To come within 14 votes of victory makes it sting a little more. I will remember the embrace that my wife and I shared last night, surrounded by our family and some of our best friends, for the rest of my life. The comfort she offered then and throughout this campaign was incredible.”

Homan, who will turn 36 before he takes office, will be the youngest Fayette County Judge in living memory.

Current County Judge Dan Mueller and his predecessor Joe Weber each served one term in office and did not run for re-election. But prior to that, County Judge Ed Janecka served 28 years in office, from 1991 to 2018. Janecka’s predecessor Dan Beck served from 1983 to 1990 before becoming District Judge.

Homan remarked on the extremely tight race.

“One thing that I want voters to look at is that if you’re in Fayette County, and probably many other places, if you believe that your vote doesn’t count, then you need to look at the election last night,” he said.

Vandever led the race 1,298 to 1,115 (about 53.79 percent) when early voting results were announced after the polls closed Tuesday night, May 26. Vandever’s lead jumped to more than 54 percent after the first three election day ballot boxes were counted – from La Grange East, La Grange West and Fayetteville. The race swung in Homan’s favor as results came in from the southern part of the County. Homan took the lead around 10 p.m. after election workers counted the ballot box from his hometown of Flatonia, where he collected nearly 80 percent of the vote. Election workers posted the final count around 10:30 p.m., which showed Homan on top by less than a percentage point. On Wednesday morning, Vandever said he hadn’t yet decided whether to request a recount.

“The elections office does a really good job, and I don’t really have any reason to doubt the outcome,” Vandever said. “That being said, I am waiting to make a final decision on requesting a recount until after they have worked through their internal processes. At this time, it seems doubtful that requesting a recount would be worth the time and expense that it would entail.”

Homan said he’ll spend the next six months preparing to take office.

“Whether the citizens of our county voted for me or whether they voted for my opponent, I’ll look to represent our whole County,” Homan said.

“I’m happy and I’m excited to get started,” he added. “But it won’t get underway fully until January. I’ll be spending time between now and then ensuring that when I take office in January, I’m ready to go.

“I’ve got a lot of people to thank,” Homan continued. “Not only the supporters, but my family, my team, and a lot of people out there in our community.”

In a statement to the Record Wednesday morning, Vandever also thanked the voters and said he hopes to continue serving the County as EMS Director.

“I will be eternally grateful for the voters who showed up to the polls and put their faith in me and the many supporters that contributed to our campaign along the way,” Vandever said. “I am going to do my best to repay them by being the best EMS director that I can be for this county, for as long as the Commissioner’s Court continues to support our department and the direction I am leading it in.

“I fully believe Josh Homan to be an intelligent, professional, patriotic, Christian man and have no doubt that he will work extremely hard for the citizens of our county,” Vandever added.

While the results were extremely close, they follow an interesting historical trend. In all County Judge races in recent memory, the candidate who carries the southern part of the County has won. This time around, Homan won the majority in just four of the 12 voting precincts – Flatonia, Schulenburg, Cistern and Ammannsville. While Vandever won the other eight, Homan’s support in the south carried him to victory.

Another remarkable aspect in this race has been how civil the two candidates have been toward each other. Both spoke a lot during the race about their own experiences, qualifications and views about government. But in all their public appearances, neither Homan nor Vandever uttered a negative word about their opponent. Compare that to the other big state-wide race on the ballot: the Republican runoff for U.S. Senate between John Cornyn and Ken Paxton. Some of the discussions about that race should probably come with a parental advisory.