Texans including Amarillo area residents voted in the Tuesday, March 3 primaries on Election Day at various polling locations in Potter and Randall County for local, state and federal positions.
In some of the more closely watched local races, Holly Jeffreys pulled ahead of Jamie Haynes in the Republican primary for the House District 86 race, while Potter County Commissioner incumbents faced tight races from their challengers.
According to preliminary results from the Texas Secretary of State elections site, as of 10:15 p.m. with 79 of 79 precincts reporting for the Republican primary, Jeffreys had 15,553 votes, or 67%, while Haynes had 8,080 or 33%.
The 23,633 total votes were out of 122,296 registered voters, or an estimated voter turnout of 19.32%.
In the Potter County Commissioner Precinct 2 race, Republican incumbent Blair Schaffer had 312 votes, or 48.67% to challenger Jeff Raef’s 329 votes, or 51.33%.
In the Potter County Commissioner Precinct 4 race, Democratic incumbent Warren Coble, Sr. had 333 votes, or 44.82%, while challenger Timothy W. Gassaway had 410 votes, or 55.18%.
The polls closed at 7 p.m.
Randall County preliminary election results:
Here are Randall County’s voting numbers for local races, with 24 of 24 precints or 100% reporting:
Judge, Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 3 (R)
Alison Fox – 6,753 or 42.44%
Lesli Fitzpatrick – 2,625 or 16.50%
Brent Coffee – 3,540 or 22.25%
Thomas Smith – 2,993 or 18.81%
Judge, Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 9
Jennifer Balido – 6,016 or 37.54%
John Messinger – 10,011 or 62.46%
State Representative, District 86 (R)
Jamie Haynes – 6,192 or 33.27%
Holly Jeffreys – 12,420 or 66.73%
Judge, County Court at Law, No. 1
Paul Herrmann – 4,962 or 29.10%
Andrew Caleb Smith – 1,430 or 8.39%
Dallas McKibben – 1,286 or 7.54%
Quenton Todd Hatter – 1,993 or 11.69%
Claire Hamker Grammer – 7,381 or 43.29%
County Clerk (R)
GiGi Yeats – 6,907 or 43.70%
Marie McNutt – 8,897 or 56.30%
Precinct Chair, Precinct 421 (R)
Judy Jackman – 195 or 47.79%
Cathy Welch – 213 or 52.21%
Randall County had 19,153 votes filed out of 100,717 registered voters, or 19.02%.
Potter County preliminary election results as of 9:30 p.m.:
Some of the local races being decided in Potter County, with 20 of 20 polling places reporting, or 100%:
Judge, Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 3
Brent Coffee – 2,377 or 38.43%
Alison Fox – 1,568 or 25.35%
Lesli Fitzpatrick – 991 or 16.02%
Thomas Smith – 1,249 or 20.19%
Judge, Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 9
John Messinger – 4,473 or 72.15%
Jennifer Balido – 1,727 or 27.85%
County Commissioner, Precinct 2 (R)
Blair Schaffer – 312 or 48.67%
Jeff Raef – 329 or 51.33%
Justice of the Peace, Precinct 1
Bryan Tackett – 897 or 39.32%
Lisa DeVries – 325 or 14.25%
Amanda Mayfield – 1,059 or 46.43%
Justice of the Peace, Precinct 2
Robert J. Taylor (incumbent) – 460 or 70.99%
Alex (AJ) Casias – 188 or 29.01%
Justice of the Peace, Precinct 3
Gary Jackson (incumbent) – 2,426 or 76.43%
Zach Harvey – 748 or 23.57%
County Commissioner, Precinct 4 (D)
Timothy W. Gassaway – 410 or 55.18%
Warren Coble, Sr. – 333 or 44.82%
Potter County had 11157 votes out of 57983 registered voters, or 19.24%.
Jeffreys pulls ahead in District 86 Republican Party race
One of the more closely watched local races is for Texas House District 86, with candidates Jamie Haynes and Holly Jeffreys vying for the Republican spot on the November ballot and Cullin Knutson filing on the Democratic side. Longtime state Rep. John Smithee, R-Amarillo, had announced he would not seek re-election.
Counties reporting in the district include Armstrong, Dallam, Deaf Smith, Hartley, Oldham, Parmer and Randall.
Knutson had 4,582 votes in the Democratic Party’s primary.
State Rep. Caroline Fairly is running unopposed in the Republican primary and had collected 11,465 votes.
In U.S. House District 13, incumbent Republican Ronny Jackson had 62,206 votes, with Republican challenger Chasity Wedgeworth receiving 7,327. Mark Nair had 23,668 votes for the Democratic side.
Several other races were uncontested, with incumbents running for re-election or newcomers hoping to add their names to the ballot.
This is a developing story; more information will be added as preliminary election results come in.
This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Follow for Potter, Randall County primary election results, more
Reporting by Kristina Wood and Nell Williams, Amarillo Globe-News / Amarillo Globe-News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
