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About a quarter of Bastrop County’s registered voters turned out to the polls during Super Tuesday, with thousands of ballots cast in races that included a successful reelection bid for Sheriff Maurice Cook.
Voters March 5 decided that Republican Cook will continue to hold his spot as the county’s top cop, pulling ahead of challenger Jeff “Gogo” Gogolewski by 1,700 votes.
The Democrats did not field a candidate, so Cook has no opposition in the Nov. 5 general election.
The sheriff plans to establish a new training facility during his upcoming term, prepping his deputies with better firearms, driving, use-offorce and hands-on training.
“Training is one of my major priorities. One of the most critical parts of the deputy’s job is to know when to shoot, and when not to shoot,” said Cook in a recent interview with the Courier.
Stan Gerdes, a Republican, took his party’s votes for House District 17 state representative seat, narrowly beating out Tom Glass with 54% of the ballots in Bastrop. Districtwide, Gerdes had 58% of the votes.
He will be met by Democrat Desiree Venable, Nov. 5.
Other counties in the district include Burleson, Caldwell, Lee and Milam.
Democrat Karin Crump took Third Court of Appeals judge, Place 5, with 55% of the votes, and Maggie Ellis, a Democrat, won the spot for Place 2 but will have to go into the runoff May 28, as she only won 38% of votes.
She faces Edward Smith, who garnered 34% of the Democrat tally.
Spots for a Bastrop County’s commissioner and a justice of peace will also go into a runoff in late May, with Republicans Dominica McGinnis and Zachary Carter, respectively, taking the wins but falling short of the 50%-plus-one cutoff.
McGinnis will face Butch Carmack for the Precinct 1 commissioner’s seat, to be matched up against Democrat Joseph Thompson in the November general election. Incumbent Precinct 2 Justice of the Peace Carter takes on Ty McDonald in the runoff.
Elizabeth Beyer, a Republican, claimed the 465th state District Court judge slot with 64% of the electorate’s approval.
Almost all of the local elections only saw candidates from one party affiliation, and other positions weren’t contested.
Uncontested winners include Republican Mark Meuth for Precinct 3 county commissioner, Republican Carson Campbell for District 21 judge, Republican John Winkelmann for District 335 judge, Democrat Chris Duggan for District 423 judge and Republican Ellen Owens for county tax assessor-collector.
The county’s constable positions for precincts one, three and four will be held by Republicans Wayne Wood, Tim Sparkman and Joey Dzienowski, respectively. Republican James Scoggins will meet Democrat August “Gus” Meduna for Precinct 2.
Uncontested county party chair winners are Curtis Courtney, a Republican, and Dock Jackson, a Democrat.
On the national scene, former President Donald Trump, a Republican, and President Joe Biden, a Democrat, took the primary for their respective parties.
GOP contender Nikki Haley was the only other candidate with a significant number of votes, stealing 15% from Trump.
Incumbent Republican Ted Cruz won over 88% of voters for his chair on the U.S. Senate, and will face off against Democrat Colin Allred during the general election.
The spot for U.S. District 10 representative will see incumbent Republican Michael McCaul matched against Democrat Theresa Boisseau, who each held around 72% of the votes.
Republican Michael Cloud claimed 75% of the votes for U.S. House District 27, and Democrat Tanya Lloyd grabbed 54%.
Around 70% of Democratic votes went to Katherine Culbert for railroad commissioner, while Republican Christi Craddick only received 49% and will go to a runoff with James Matlock.
David Schenck claimed the Republican vote for criminal appeals court presiding judge and will face Democrat Holly Taylor.
Earning spots on the ballot for the Texas Supreme Court are Republican Jimmy Blacklock and Democrat DaSean Jones for Place 2, Republican Brian Walker and Democrat Christine Vinh Weems for Place 4 and Republican Jane Bland and Democrat Bonnie Lee Goldstein for Place 6.
They will face off Nov. 5.
The last day to register to vote for the November general election is Oct. 7, and the first day of early voting by personal appearance is Oct. 21.
According to election officials, 8,604 ballots were cast across the county during early voting Feb. 20 to March 1, which accounts for 14.72% of Bastrop County’s 58,441 registered voters.
The 25% voter turnout this year landed just shy of the 32% from the 2020 election.
