State Rep. Kelly Hancock won the often-bitter District 9 state Senate Republican primary race against his colleague, state Rep. Todd Smith.
Hancock won with 65 percent of vote compared with Smith's 35 percent with all precincts reporting, along with early and absentee ballots. He praised Smith as a "committed public servant," then said that North Texas deserves a "principled, conservative" leader to keep taxes low and protect family values.Rep. Mark Shelton grabbed almost 81 percent of the vote in the District 10 Republican state senate contest while 19 percent went to Tea Party activist Derek Cooper with all precincts reported, according to unofficial returns. Claiming victory, Shelton lost no time lashing out at Sen. Wendy Davis, the incumbent Democrat, whom he will face in November in a district including Fort Worth's west side south of Interstate 30, Benbrook and Edgecliff Village."Should legislators, like Wendy Davis, be allowed to enrich themselves with multimillion-dollar public contracts?" Shelton asked, referring to Davis's law firm's public sector clients. Earlier, Davis released a statement, saying: "My support for public education is just one of the issues that separates me from my opponent and is one that will provide voters with a clear choice in this election."Hancock and Smith, both avowed conservatives, accused each other of being overly beholden to special interests in the closely watched District 9 race.Smith, of Euless, attacked Hancock for putting the energy industry's interests above those of the public by opposing a bill that made clear what fracking chemicals were employed in drilling for natural gas.Then, Hancock attacked contributions to Smith linked to Steve Mostyn, a wealthy Houston trial attorney and active Democrat. The sudden infusion allowed Smith, a personal injury attorney, to buy TV airtime, creating a political ad arms race between the two.In November, Hancock will run against Libertarian Dave "Mac" McElwee, 73, a retired schoolteacher from Arlington, and Democrat Pete Martinez, 41, a firefighter from Arlington, in the heavily Republican district that covers chunks of Northeast Tarrant County, western Dallas County and a sliver of Denton County.Barry Shlachter, 817-390-7718Twitter: @startelegramHave more to add? News tip? Tell us
