Texans turned out in droves during Tuesday’s midterm general election and Polk County was no exception, with 39% of the registered voters in the county heading to the polls.
Early voting turnout throughout the state was unusually high, with many counties surpassing previous records. In Polk County, 26.04% of the registered voters cast ballots during the early voting period, a significantly higher percentage than usual. Of the 2,561 absentee ballots requested, only 1,929 were returned.
Livingston and Leggett ISDs each had school board elections in their respective districts. Other than those, the only local contested race on the ballot was that of Polk County Clerk. Ida Bencomo was the Democratic candidate and Margie West was the Republican candidate. Unofficial results reflect West as the winner in the county clerk’s race; Helen Murphy Wiggins, Kevin Grimm, John Allen Slocomb and Andrew Boyce as the winners in the Livingston School Board election; and Jason McDonald, Vicki Russell and Taylor Jackson as the winners in the Leggett School Board election.
Although statewide results were not available at press time, listed below are the unofficial local results. A “D” signifies Democrat, an “R” signifies Republican and an “L” signifies Libertarian. An “I” indicates the candidate is the incumbent.
United States Senator
James Talarico (D) – 4,532
Ken Paxton (R) – 12,558
Ted Brown (L) – 403
United States Representative, District 10
Caitlin Rourk (D) – 4,348
Chris Gober (R) – 13,088
Governor
Gina Hinojosa (D) – 4,345
(I) Greg Abbott (R) – 12,952
Pat Dixon (L) – 249
Lieutenant Governor
Vikki Goodwin (D) – 4,243
(I) Dan Patrick (R) – 12,825
Anthony Cristo (L) 276
Attorney General
Nathan Johnson (D) – 4,221
Mayes Middleton (R) – 12,988
Tom Oxford (L) – 279
Agriculture Commissioner
Clayton Tucker (D) – 4,154
Nate Sheets (R) – 12,918
Austin R. Kelly (L) – 307
Comptroller
Sarah Eckhardt (D) – 4,183
Donald Huffines (R) – 12,942
Alonzo Echavarria-Garza (L) – 232
Land Commissioner
Benjamin Flores (D) – 4,090
(I) Dawn Buckingham (R) – 13,036
Neill Snider (L) – 261
Railroad Commissioner
Jon Rosenthal (D) – 4,211
Bo French (R) – 12,866
Arthur DiBianca (L) – 260
Chief Justice, Supreme Court, Place 1
Maggie Ellis (D) – 4,239
(I) Jimmy Blacklock (R) – 13,152
Justice, Supreme Court, Place 2
Chari Kelly (D) – 4,224
(I) James P. Sullivan (R) – 13,142
Justice, Supreme Court, Place 7
Kristen Hawkins (D) – 4,283
(I) Kyle Hawkins (R) – 13,066
Justice, Supreme Court, Place 8
Gisela Triana (D) – 4,164
(I) Brett Busby (R) – 13,162
Judge, Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 3
Okey Anyiam (D) – 3,907
Thomas Smith (R) – 13,091
Mark Ash (L) – 343
Judge, Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 4
Audra Riley (D) – 4,178
(I) Kevin Yeary (R) – 13,117
Judge, Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 9
Holly Taylor (D) – 4,204
John Messinger (R) – 13,076
State Board of Education, District 8
Dana Van de Walker (D) – 4,156
(I) Audrey Young (R) – 13,123
State Senator, District 3
Bobby Tillman (D) – 4,173
Trent Ashby (R) – 13,207
State Representative, District 9
Shelley Tatum (D) – 4,271
Rocky Thigpen (R) – 13,090
County Clerk
Ida Bencomo (D) – 3,892
Margie West (R) – 13,295
Livingston ISD School Board
(I) Andrew Boyce – 2,989
Lorine Jefferson – 2,712
(I) John Allen Slocomb – 3,129
Howard Smith – 2,432
Helen Murphy Wiggins – 3,866
(I) Kevin Grimm – 3,789
Devan Shannon – 1,025
Merek Brister – 885
Leggett ISD School Board
(I) Vicki Russell – 92
Robert Nowlin – 80
Ra’Shod Jefferson – 78
Sharlon Jackson – 74
Jason McDonald – 136
Tristan Batchelor – 64
Taylor Jackson – 81
(I) Armando Diosdado – 45
Angelina Pantel – 29
