The Republican race to choose a successor to retiring U.S. Rep. Kay Granger is heading to a runoff since none of the five candidates captured enough votes to win outright.
State Rep. Craig Goldman of Fort Worth received the most votes in Tuesday’s Republican primary, winning 44.35 percent of the vote, according to unofficial state results.
Goldman will face John O’Shea, a Fort Worth businessman, in a May 28 runoff for the 12th Congressional District seat. O’Shea captured 26.4 percent of the vote.
District 12 spans part of Tarrant County and most of Parker County.
In Tarrant County, where 145,705 ballots were cast in races up and down the ballot, Goldman won 50.02 percent of the vote to O’Shea’s 29.14 percent.
But in Parker County, where about 22,000 votes were cast, Clint Dorris of Aledo, an army combat veteran and engineer in government administration, was the top vote-getter with nearly 36 percent. Goldman collected almost 32 percent of the vote and O’Shea received about 20 percent.
In a speech to supporters recorded by NBCDFW before the final resutls were known Goldman said, “If we make the runoff, we will work like hell to continue running until the runoff.”
O’Shea has stated this reason for running is a “moral imperative.”
O’Shea’s endorsers included state Attorney General Ken Paxton and retired Army Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, who served as national security adviser during Donald Trump’s presidency.
Among those who endorsed Goldman were Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, former Texas governor and U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry, Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker and multiple GOP legislative colleagues, including Rep. Charlie Geren of Fort Worth.
The winner of the runoff will face Democrat Trey J. Hunt in November. The district leans Republican.
In another high profile congressional race, Brandon Gill, a 30-year-old political novice, prevailed over 10 challengers to win the GOP nomination in District 26.
Gill, whose campaign flooded the airwaves with campaign ads featuring endorsements by Donald Trump and U.S. Ted Cruz of Texas, captured 58.38 percent of the vote.
Like the District12 seat, which Granger has held since 1997, the 26th District seat has been held for more than two decades by a single occupant, U.S. Rep. Michael Burgess of Pilot Point.
Burgess’ decision to retire attracted a large field of candidates, including former Denton County Judge Scott Army, the son of Dick Armey, who represented the district in Congress before Burgess, from 1985 to 2003, and was House Majority Leader.
The district, considered a GOP stronghold, stretches across Denton, Cooke and Wise counties.
Armey captured 14.5 percent of the vote, followed by Southlake Mayor John Huffman, who captured about 10 percent.
Gill, of Flower Mound, is the founder of DC Enquirer, a conservative news site. He collaborated with his father-in-law, conservative commentator Dinesh D’Souza, to produce the film 2000 Mules, which alleges widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election. That premise has been unproven and widely criticized as a baseless conspiracy theory.
In November, Gill will face Democrat Ernest Linberger III.
In the race to succeed longtime Tarrant County Commissioner Roy Charles Brooks (Precinct 1), a runoff appears likely between Democrats Kathleen Hicks and Roderick Miles Jr. since neither received more than 50 percent of the vote in the four-person race.
Results for all primary races in Tarrant County can be found on the country’s elections website. Statewide election results are available on the Texas Secretary of State website. Election information is also available from The Texas Tribune.