POSTED: Wednesday, May 30, 2012 - 7:20am
UPDATED: Wednesday, May 30, 2012 - 6:33pm
TEXAS — Longtime State Representative Leo Berman of Tyler will not be heading back to Austin, following a decisive victory by challenger Matt Schaefer. In another high-profile race, it's Larry Smith and Chris Green in a July 31 runoff for Smith County sheriff. Here are the final, unofficial results of those two Republican races in Tuesday's primary:
State Representative, District 6
Matt Schaefer . . . . . . . . . 11,138 57.68 %
Leo Berman . . . . . . . . . .… 8,172 42.32 %
Sheriff
Bobby Garmon . . . . . . . . . 4,678 16.99 %
Chris V. Green. . . . . . . . . 10,353 37.59 %
Donn Rust . . . . . . . . . . …366 1.33 %
Larry R. Smith. . . . . . . . . 12,143 44.09 %
In other races, incumbent Terry Phillips and newcomer Ronnie Pilcher face a runoff in the GOP Primary race for County Commissioner Precinct 3. Incumbent Democratic Precinct 1 Constable Henry Jackson has won another term, as has incumbent Republican Precinct 2 Constable Andy Dunklin. That's not the case in Precinct 5, where longtime Constable Dennis Taylor was trounced by challenger Kenneth Bibby in a GOP race. In the Republican bid for Constable Precinct 3, it's Jim Blackmon and Scott McAuley in a runoff, with incumbent Dustin Rust finishing last. You can click here for full election results, details, and statistics for all Smith County races. [2]
In another area race for the Texas House, David Simpson has defeated Tommy Merritt in the District 7 GOP primary. Both men are from Longview.
In the race for the Texas House in District 11, incumbent Chuck Hopson and Travis Clardy will meet in a runoff. Unofficial returns showed Hopson with 9,249 votes and Clardy with 9,083. A third candidate, Tony Sevilla, polled 1,284 votes.