Poor voter turnout mirrors state totals

Posted

Just 501 Gonzales County voters turned out for Tuesdays runoff election for the Democratic and Republican primaries. That was just 4.15 percent of registered voters in the county, which number 12,064.

Of the three races spread across the two ballots, the District 27 congressional race for the GOP nominee garnered the most interest, with 397 Gonzales County Republicans showing up to select Michael Cloud as their choice for the November General Election. He defeated Bech Bruun, 283-114.

District wide, Cloud easily trounced the once-favored Bruun, 15,234 votes to 9,723, or 61 percent to 39 percent, according to unofficial totals released by the Texas Secretary of State's office. The race had grown into a nasty referendum focusing on outside campaign money and how much each candidate would support President Donald Trump's agenda.

On the Democratic ballot, Gonzales County narrowly selected Raul (Roy) Barrera as their choice over Eric Holguin for the chance to challenge Cloud in November, with a tally of 42-41. The district winner, however, was Holguin, taking 6,422 votes to Barrera's 3,953. The eventual winner will inherit a district that stretches from Corpus Christi up through Victoria and finishing in Bastrop County, which was formerly held by Rep. Blake Farenthold, who quit last month over sexual harassment allegations.

The only other race on the Democratic ticket was for the gubernatorial representative. Locals voted to a deadlock, with Lupe Valdez and Andrew White each drawing 52 votes. Valdez won the statewide competition, gathering 227,642 votes to White's 201,442. Valdez — the state's first openly gay and Latina gubernatorial candidate — will face Greg Abbott in November's election.

Comments