County early vote low in House race
Aug. 28—The early vote in the August 31 District 10 Texas House of Representatives election is overwhelmingly from Ellis County.
As of Thursday Texas Secretary of State reported 2,535 had cast early ballots in Ellis County and only 70 in Henderson County. Voting was picking up a bit, with 27 participating on Wednesday.
The turnout is not surprising because of the population disparity between the entirety of Ellis County to the northwest. In the 2018 District 10 race, there were 59,453 votes from Ellis County to 4,097 from Henderson County.
A reason for the low Henderson County early vote turnout for the special election is of all the candidates only one is from Henderson County and he is a libertarian. Matt Savino of Seven Points is joined by five Republicans a Democrat and an independent. Savino ran for the District 10 seat in 2020 and came in second to Jake Ellzey.
The candidates on the ballot are:
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Independent Scott Goodwin
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Republican Kevin Griffin,
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Republican Brian Harrison
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Republican Susan Mellina Hayslip
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Democrat Pierina Otiniano
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Libertarian Matt Savino of Seven Points,
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Republican Clark Wickliffe
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Republican John Wray
If no candidate receives a majority in the first round of voting, the top two finishers will proceed to a runoff, regardless of party affiliation.
Wray served as District 10 representative in 2015 until Ellzey took office in January. He did not choose to run for re-election in 2020.
Harrison, also has the benefit of name recognition. He finished third among Republicans in a Sixth Congressional District special election in May.
When the western section of House District 4 was carved off and combined with District 10 during re-alignment some said the move would reduce Henderson County's clout in the legislature. At the time, veteran legislator Jim Pitts served the district.
On Tuesday, Election Day Henderson County District 10 voters can participate at the Trinidad Community Center, Malakoff ISD Learning Center, Oran White Civic Center in Tool, the Library at Cedar Creek Lake in Seven Points and the Henderson County Election Center on Larkin Street in Athens.
