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Regional Roundup: Flynn wins; Smith, Lawson To Runoff

State Rep. Dan Flynn (R-Van) will once again be on ballots in November.
KUT
State Rep. Dan Flynn (R-Van) will once again be on ballots in November.

Incumbent Republican State Representative Dan Flynn withstood a challenge in Texas House District 2, while the GOP nominee for Texas House District 62 will be determined by a runoff between Reggie Smith and Brent Lawson. Flynn’s victory came on a night that featured mixed results for Republican incumbents.

House District 2

Flynn defeated fellow Republican Bryan Slaton by coming away with 51.7 percent of the vote. District 2 is composed of Hopkins, Hunt and Van Zandt counties. Flynn, of Van, won 54.8 percent of the vote in his home county of Van Zandt (5,018 of 9,159 votes). Flynn also took Hopkins County (53.8 percent, 2,535 of 4,709 votes). Slaton won Hunt County with 52.5 percent of the vote (4,689 of 8,948).

House District 62

The District 62 incumbent, Republican Larry Phillips, is not running for re-election. The GOP nominee will be the winner of an upcoming runoff election. The district includes Delta, Fannin and Grayson counties. Smith won a plurality, but not a majority, of votes (45.8 percent, 7,885 of 17,224 votes). Lawson qualified for the runoff with a second-place finish (34.3 percent, 5,916), while Kevin Couch was eliminated from the running (19.9 percent, 3,423).

Texas Senate

Bob Hall defeated challenger Cindy Burkettin the Senate District 2 primary election. Hall won 53.2 percent of the vote. The only other Texas Senate primary race in the KETR service area was in District 30, a North Texas district that includes parts of eastern Collin County. In that race, Republican challenger Pat Fallon routed incumbent Craig Estes and GOP hopeful Craig Carter. Fallon won 62 percent of the vote (53,796 of 86,756). Estes took 22.6 percent (19,614), while Carter managed 15.4 percent (13,346). In Collin County, voting patterns reflected those in the district as a whole. Estes won 60.1 percent of the vote in Collin County (6,223 of 10,358), while Estes received 25 percent (2,585) and Carter took 15 percent (1,550).

House District 4

Incumbent Republican Lance Gooden is running for U.S. Congress, and four GOP hopefuls were jockeying to be the new nominee in District 4, including Stuart Spitzer, who once held the office. Spitzer came away with the most votes (45.8 percent, 9,736 of 20,486), but it wasn’t enough to avoid a May runoff election with Keith Bell, who finished second with 26.2 percent of the vote (5,367 votes). Ashley McKee (25.7 percent, 5,269) narrowly missed qualifying for the runoff, while Earl Brunner (2.3 percent, 474) finished a distant fourth. District 4 is composed of Henderson and Kaufman counties.

House District 89

This suburban Collin County district has been represented in Austin by Republican Jodie Laubenberg, who is not running for re-election. The new GOP nominee will be Candy Noble (54.2 percent, 7,897 votes), who defeated John Payton (45.8 percent, 6,679 votes).

Mark Haslett has served at KETR since 2013. Since then, the station's news operation has enjoyed an increase in listener engagement and audience metrics, as well recognition in the Texas AP Broadcasters awards.