Jones wins county judge in a rout; two local races head to runoff as Kerr County splits with state on Senate

Tom Jones swept to victory in the Kerr County Judge race Tuesday, his dominant 28-point margin over James “Jack” Stewart the defining result of a primary night that will also send two local races to a May runoff — while Kerr County voters bucked the statewide trend in the U.S. Senate race, backing Ken Paxton heavily even as John Cornyn held his statewide lead.

Jones led 5,904 to 3,262 — 64.4% to 35.6% — with 15 of 20 precincts reporting, a margin so consistent across absentee, early and election-day ballots that it amounted to a countywide mandate. The race had been the most-watched contest on the Kerr County ballot, and Jones answered with a performance that was never seriously in doubt after the first returns dropped.

The contrast with the commissioner races could not have been sharper.

In Precinct 1, no candidate came close to the 50% needed to avoid a runoff. Clay Lambert led with 33%, Brenda Hughes trailed at 31.7%, and Wayne Uecker — who surged on election-day ballots throughout the night — finished at 29%. Lambert and Hughes will advance to a May runoff, with Uecker’s voters potentially decisive in the outcome.

The County Court-at-Law race was similarly headed to a runoff, with Robert Hunter Moose leading a five-candidate field at 41.1%. Brett Ferguson, at 23.4%, appeared positioned to advance as the second-place finisher.

Don Harris won a convincing victory in Justice of the Peace Precinct 4 with 53.2% in a four-candidate field. His win carries significance beyond his own race: by leaving the Commissioners Court for the JP bench, he vacates the Precinct 4 seat that Guy “Bubba” Walters won Tuesday night with 55.6% over Randy Murphy. Walters will most likely succeed Harris on the court. Rich Paces held off Mike Allen in Precinct 2, 52.4% to 47.6%, in a race that stayed close all night.

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On the statewide ballot, Kerr County showed its conservative character clearly in the U.S. Senate race — backing Paxton even as the incumbent senator led statewide. Cornyn finished with 42.7% statewide to Paxton’s 40.3%, neither clearing the 50% threshold needed to avoid a runoff. The two will meet again in May.

In the 21st Congressional District, Mark Teixeira won convincingly with 61.3% in a 12-candidate field — a performance that cleared the runoff threshold with room to spare. Teixeira will face Democrat Dr. Kristin Hook in November in the race to succeed Chip Roy, who vacated the seat to run for attorney general. Roy finished second in that race statewide at 31.1%, trailing Mayes Middleton’s 40.1%. Neither Middleton nor Roy cleared 50%, setting up a May runoff for the office Paxton once held.

The one statewide race that produced an outright winner was comptroller, where Don Huffines — backed by former President Donald Trump — captured 57.3% statewide, avoiding a runoff against a fractured field that included Kelly Hancock at 23.3% and Christi Craddick at 15.7%.

All local results remain unofficial pending canvass.