Two county offices to be contested in upcoming primary election
When Stephens County voters go to the polls on March 1 for the 2022 Primary Election, there will be two contested local races, as well as a variety of state and federal races, on the ballot.
Local Offices
Local offices up for re-election in 2022 are County Judge, County Commissioner – Precinct 2, County Commissioner – Precinct 4, County Clerk, County Treasurer, Justice of the Peace and District Clerk.
Two of those offices, County Clerk and County Treasurer, have two candidates each in the Republican Party Primary. For County Clerk, incumbent Jackie Ensey filed for re-election, and D’Jean Thompson filed to run against Ensey. For County Treasurer, incumbent Sharon Trigg filed for re-election, and Nicole Cantrell filed to run against Trigg.
Additionally, the following incumbents filed to run in the Republican Primary and have no opponents:
- County Judge — Michael Roach
- County Commissioners – Precinct 2 — Mark McCullough
- County Commissioner – Precinct 4 — Eric O’Dell
- Justice of the Peace and– Steve Spoon
- District Clerk — Christie Coapland
There are no local candidates running in the Democratic Party Primary.
State Races
In the Texas House of Representatives District 60 race, there are four Republican candidates: incumbent Glenn Rogers, Kit Marshall, Mike Olcott and Lucas Turner. District 60 was recently reconfigured by the Texas Legislature and now includes Stephens, Palo Pinto and Parker counties. There are no Democratic candidates.
For State Senate District 10, Republicans Phil King and Warren V. Norred have filed to run, and Beverly Powell is running in the Democratic primary. For the State Senate, Stephens County has been moved from District 28, which is currently represented by Charles Perry, to District 10, which will include Stephens, Shackelford, Palo Pinto, Callahan, Brown, Johnson and parts of Parker and Tarrant counties. King is the current State Representative for District 61.
Other offices that are up for re-election in 2022 include Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Comptroller of Public Accounts, Commissioner of the General Land Office, Commissioner of Agriculture, Railroad Commissioner 2 and others.
U.S. Representative
During the recent redistricting, Stephens County was put into a different district for the U.S. House of Representatives seat. Currently, the county is split, with the southern half in District 11, represented by August Pfluger, and the northern half in District 19, represented by Jodey Arrington.
Pfluger and Arrington will continue to represent their respective districts through the end of 2022. But, beginning with the March 2022 primaries, local voters will be voting for representatives in the reconfigured District 25, which includes Stephens, Young, Jack, Palo Pinto, Eastland, Erath, Comanche, Hood and Somervell counties, and parts of Parker, Callahan, Tarrant and Johnson counties.
Roger Williams represents the current District 25, which includes Bosque, Burnet, Coryell, Hamilton, Hill, Johnson, Lampasas, and Somervell counties and parts of Bell, Erath, Hays, Tarrant, and Travis counties. According to the Secretary of State’s office, Williams is the only candidate who has filed to run for the office in the Republican primary, and no Democrats filed to run.
Primary Election
The Republican and Democratic primary elections are scheduled for March 1, 2022. Early voting will be held Feb. 14-25.
Additionally, some voters may be eligible to vote by mail-in ballot. To be eligible to vote early by mail in Texas, you must:
- be 65 years or older;
- be sick or disabled;
- be out of the county on election day and during the period for early voting by personal appearance; or
- be confined in jail, but otherwise eligible.
Those wanting to vote by mail must request a Ballot by Mail between Jan. 1 and Feb. 18. For details on how to apply for a Ballot by Mail, click here.
The last day to register to vote in the primary election is Monday, Jan. 31. For information on how to determine if you’re already registered and, if you’re not, how to register, visit the VoteTexas website.
Additionally, information about the elections is available through the Stephens County Elections Administrator Christie Latham or the Texas Secretary of State’s Office.
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