The race for the Republican Party’s candidate for the Lubbock County Precinct 3 justice of the peace will likely be decided in the May 26 runoff election between Mary Hernandez and Traci Baxa.
Neither candidate garnered at least 50 percent plus one of the votes cast to secure the position in the March 3 Republican Primary election.
Results show Hernandez, a retired police officer, leading the three-way race with 37.54 percent of the 2,347 votes cast followed by Baxa, a homemaker, who drew 32.68 percent of the votes.
Incumbent Frank Gutierrez, who was elected in 2022, came in last with 29.78 percent of the votes.
The winner of the race will run against Democratic Party candidate Marina Garcia in the November general election.
Garcia, a former constable, earned 77.85 percent of the 3,025 votes cast in her race against Ronnie Vasquez.
Justices of the peace typically deal with class C misdemeanor cases including traffic tickets and civil matters in which the amount in contention does not exceed $10,000, according to the Texas Association of Counties website. Justices of the peace also preside over small-claims courts in actions for the recovery of money that does not exceed $10,000.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Lubbock County JP3 Republican primary race heading to runoff
Reporting by Gabriel Monte, Lubbock Avalanche-Journal / Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
