One Donley County precinct will be getting a new commissioner, and another commissioner’s seat is headed to a runoff election following last week’s party primary elections.
Precinct 1 Commissioner Mark White lost his reelection bid to challenger Del Essary in the Republican Primary, 104-76. Essary, a current Howardwick alderman and former mayor of that city, faces no opposition in the November general election and will take office next January.
In Precinct 3, Commissioner Neil Koetting came in second in a three-person race for the Republican nomination. Greg Wootten received 86 votes, Koetting had 68, and Sis Bond had 45.
Since no candidate received more than 50 percent of the vote, the top two candidates – Wootten and Koetting – will face each other in a runoff election May 28.
In the race for the GOP nomination for the State House District 88 seat, incumbent Rep. Ken King of Canadian vended off a challenge by Karen Post of Plainview, winning 498-130 in Donley County and also by a wide margin throughout the district.
King had been targeted to be “primaried” by some state Republicans who have labeled him as a RINO for not following some of the governor’s priorities.
Donley County Republicans followed suit with GOP voters across the state in backing former president Donald Trump. Locally, Trump received 599 votes; Nikki Haley received 66; Ryan Brinkley, Chris Christie, and Asa Hutchinson received two each; and Ron Desantis got six.
Local Republicans also voted in favor of all 13 non-binding resolutions on the Republican ballot.
On the Republican ballot with no opposition but of local interest were US Rep. Ronny Jackson, District Judge Dale Rabe, Jr., District Attorney Luke Inman, County Attorney Landon Lambert, Sheriff Butch Blackburn, and County Tax Assessor/Collector Kristy Christopher.
Bill Word was also unopposed for the county GOP chairman’s position.
In the local Democratic Primary, President Joe Biden received 25 votes and Dean Phillips and Armando “Mando” Perez-Serrato each had two.
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