Republicans Stephanie Klick, David Lowe in runoff for House District 91 seat
State Rep. Stephanie Klick and David Lowe are headed for a runoff in the race for House District 91.
Klick, a nurse from Fort Worth, received 48.96% of the vote. Lowe, a stay at home dad who retired from the military, received 39.06%. The runoff is May 24. With no Democrat running, the winner is likely to win the Nov. 8 general election.
David Lowe said he feels good about his chances of coming out on top in a runoff, especially since he feels most didn’t expect him to make it this far.
“Everybody thought our campaign was joke when I announced in July,” Lowe said. “The results, to be honest with you, the number of people that I talked to yesterday were overwhelmingly supportive of my campaign.”
He said he believes his supporters are those who are tired of the way establishment politicians do things in Austin.
“I think that the numbers you saw yesterday, on Election Day voting, those were your more informed voters and they voted for change,” Lowe said.
Klick did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday, but said Tuesday after the county announced a computer problem was delaying results until early Wednesday morning that she felt good about the lead she had in early voting returns.
“I’m encouraged but we don’t have Election Day [results] yet, and there were a lot of people voting today,” Klick told the Star-Telegram. “Lots of great patriots were out voting today.”
Tarrant County GOP chair Rick Barnes told the Star-Telegram he expected the Republican primary turnout to meet that of the 2020 presidential primary. That’s a big deal, he said, especially since midterm voter numbers are typically lower than those of presidential election years.
“I also think Republicans in Tarrant County are ready to make a statement very clearly that we are ready to make a stand and we want to keep Tarrant County red,” Barnes said.
The district covers Richland Hills, North Richland Hills, Watauga, most of Haltom City, and parts of Fort Worth and Hurst.
Klick, 65, has held the seat since 2013. Some of her challengers said she’s not conservative enough.
Lowe, 38, of North Richland Hills, previously said Klick hasn’t gotten enough done while in office.
“To put it frankly, I think that people are pissed off,” he said. “And rightly so. This is a Republican-controlled majority in a Republican-controlled state. We should be able to get anything we want through, right? But we can’t. We keep bowing down to the minority.”
In her conversation with the Editorial Board Klick defended her legislative record, pointing to her work on the compassionate use program allowing low-level THC cannabis to be used as a treatment for certain medical conditions. Klick said she also supported funding for border security and authored a bill making it a state jail felony to knowingly block an ambulance from getting to hospitals — a bill responding to protests sparked by the killing of George Floyd.
“I have a record of passing complex legislation to support my constituents, and the endorsements I have is based on the work I’ve done as a legislator representing my community,” she said.
District 92 Democrat
Salman Bhojani won with 57.51% of the vote. Tracy Scott received 25.43 and Dinesh Sharma had 17.06%. The winner faces Republican Joe F. Livingston, who ran unopposed.
District 97 Democrat
Laurin McLaurin defeated Christopher Rector with 72.28%. The winner faces Republican Craig Goldman, who ran unopposed.
District 98 Republican
Giovanni Capriglione defeated Mitchell T. Ryan with 68.05% of the vote. He faces Democrat Shannon Elkins, who ran unopposed.
Texas Senate 10 Republican
Phil King defeated Warren V. Norred with 75.52% of the vote. King faces Democrat Beverly Powell, who ran unopposed.
Texas Senate 12
Democrat Francine Ly defeated Ferdi Mongo with 73.11% of the vote. Ly will face Republcian Tan Parker, who defeated Chris Russell with 71.03% of the vote.
This story was originally published March 1, 2022 at 7:13 PM.