FORT WORTH - Former Secretary of State Roger Williams and retired Army officer Wes Riddle of Gatesville jumped to the top of the 12 Republicans hoping to represent the drastically revamped 25th Congressional District that stretches from the edges of Tarrant County to Austin late Tuesday, with slightly more than early votes reported.
With four of 224 precincts reported, Williams held a 27 percent lead, followed by Riddle with 16 percent. Cleburne Mayor Justin Hewlett followed with 14 percent of the vote, Dave Garrison had 12.7 percent of the vote and Dianne Costa followed with 11 percent. Former Texas Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams trailed with 6 percent of the vote, with around 14,000 votes reported.Last year's redrawing of congressional district lines flipped the district from a once Democratic-leaning area to a Republican-leaning area - so much so that the incumbent, Democratic Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Austin, switched to nearby District 35 for re-election.The revamped district - now home to the Comanche Peak nuclear power plant near Glen Rose, Fort Hood near Killeen, the University of Texas at Austin and the Texas Capitol - draws its biggest population base, about 240,000 voters, from Austin-area communities. But it also includes 150,000 residents in Johnson County and more than 7,000 in Tarrant County.Here's a look at the early results in other local and area congressional races, according to unofficial results posted on the Texas Secretary of State's website.District 6Longtime Republican U.S. Rep. Joe Barton of Arlington easily led four challengers in his re-election bid, holding on to 66 percent of the vote with in early returns. Former Addison Mayor Joe Chow drew 20 percent, Arlington accountant Frank Kuchar earned 8 percent and Joshua businessman Itamar Gelbman earned 6 percent.In the Democratic primary, Kenneth Sanders led in the early returns with 62 percent, hoping to become Barton's challenger in the November general election. Brianna Hinojosa-Flores accrued 32 percent of the early voite, and Don Jaquess 6 percent.District 12Republican U.S. Rep. Kay Granger was handily in the lead in her primary re-election bid, drawing 82 percent of the vote to challenger Bill Lawrence's 18 percent, with less than one percent of the vote recorded.The winner will face Democrat Dave Robinson in November.District 24Republican U.S. Rep. Kenny Marchant of Coppell was leading challenger Grant Stinchfield in his re-election bid, with 69 percent of the vote to 31 percent, with less than one percent of the precincts reporting.The winner will face Democrat Tim Rusk in November.District 26U.S. Rep. Michael Burgess, R-Lewisville, was unopposed in the Republican primary and will face David Sanchez, who was unopposed in the Democratic primary, in November.District 30U.S. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Dallas, was headed toward winning the Democratic Party's nomination to continue the service she started in the U.S. House in 1993. Johnson had 72 percent of the vote to Barbara Mallory Caraway's 18 percent and Taj Clayton's 12 percent, with less than one percent of the precincts reporting.Have more to add? News tip? Tell us
