Denton County Republicans will have a new nominee on the ticket for Precinct 4 County Commissioner in November, but Tuesday’s primary election didn’t have an outright winner.
When all the ballots were tallied, shortly after 1:30 a.m. on Wednesday, David Wylie of Argyle led the pack with 36.86%. However, it wasn’t enough to win the nomination outright.
“It’s really exciting, but we knew going in to a four-person race it would be unexpected for one person to win without a runoff,” he said.
Despite challenging an incumbent, Wylie felt he had an edge over his competition because of his countywide experience.
“What you saw in the results were communities of influence,” he said. “Commissioner [Dianne] Edmondson carried Robson Ranch, Gerard [Hudspeth] carried Denton and I’ve worked countywide with the Republican Party, so I think people voted with who they were most familiar with.”
Wylie said he is looking forward to talking to more voters and understanding their problems on a deeper level.
Valerie Roehrs of Bartonville finished second, qualifying her to face off against Wylie in the May runoff.
However, it came down to the wire for the second runoff spot.
Roehrs finished Election Day with 5,750 votes (23.17%). She outnumbered Denton Mayor Gerard Hudspeth, who got 5,536 votes (22.31%).
“I am thrilled the voters of Denton County have allowed me to continue in this electoral process,” she said. “I plan to earn each of their votes in the upcoming runoff and look forward to serving them.”
Most incumbents in local primary elections retained their spot on the Republican ticket, but that wasn’t the case in the Precinct 4 Commissioner race.
“Denton County has proven it wants fresh leadership and I plan to deliver common sense and conservative values,” said Roehrs. “God bless Texas and Denton County.”
Incumbent Dianne Edmondson ended with the fourth-most votes out of the four candidates, but she accepted the results and congratulated her opponents.
“God is good. He was in charge of this whole thing and I believe his plan is being carried out,” she said. “They obviously ran a hard campaign and it paid off with the voters.”
Edmondson said she was thankful the opportunity to serve Denton County residents and work on Commissioners Court since she was elected in 2018.
“It was wonderful. I’ve really enjoyed my time working with fellow commissioners and helping people with problems ranging from potholes to tax rates,” she said. “But, everything is good and we’ll see what God has in mind for me next.”
The May 26 runoff will decide which candidate will lock down the Republican nominee for November’s general election.
Wylie or Roehrs will face off against Democrat Stephanie Draper, who ran unopposed for the party’s Precinct 4 County Commissioner nomination.
For more information, visit Denton County’s elections webpage.
