Three commissioner races, three different stories — and one separated by 7 votes

The most dramatic contests on the Kerr County primary ballot Tuesday night weren’t for county judge — they were for the Commissioners Court, where three races were producing three entirely different kinds of suspense with eight of 20 precincts in.

In Precinct 1, Brenda Hughes led Clay Lambert by seven votes — 616 to 609 — in a four-way race for an unexpired term that has defied prediction all night. The margin has oscillated since the first results dropped: the early vote produced a near-dead heat, election-day returns briefly gave Hughes a 16-vote cushion, and now with more precincts in she leads by just seven. Wayne Uecker, who was drawing under 30% in early voting, has pulled closer on election-day ballots and stood at 27.4% — close enough that his ceiling matters as the remaining precincts come in. George Baroody trailed at 7.1%. Twelve precincts had not yet reported.

Precinct 2 was nearly as tight. Rich Paces led Mike Allen 1,144 to 1,074 — a margin of 70 votes, or 3.2 percentage points — with election-day results now included. Paces has led throughout the night, but Allen has stayed within striking distance across every ballot category. That race covers the eastern portion of the county, and it remained very much alive.

Precinct 4 was the exception — the one commissioner race that looked to be settling. Guy “Bubba” Walters held a consistent lead over Randy Murphy across absentee, early and election-day ballots, and with 1,282 votes to Murphy’s 977, his 13.5-point advantage appeared durable.

Taken together, the night could produce a Commissioners Court with two new faces — or none — depending on how the remaining precincts fall. The Precinct 1 result in particular may not be known until the final precincts report.

All results remain unofficial.