The two Republicans looking to fill the vacant seat representing Texas House District 2 will have a public debate tomorrow evening. Brent Money and Jill Dutton are scheduled to debate in Canton on Tuesday. Dutton and Money are the two candidates on the ballot in the upcoming Jan. 30 special election.
Texas House of Representatives District 2 is composed of Hopkins, Hunt, and Van Zandt counties. The vacancy was created by the resignation and expulsion from the Texas House of Representatives of former State Rep. Bryan Slaton, also a Republican. Slaton’s departure was prompted by revelations that he supplied alcohol for and had sex with a 19-year-old intern.
Money and Dutton were the top finishers in a special election held along with the general election last November. Money, a Greenville attorney, finished with the most votes, about 32 percent of ballots cast. Jill Dutton, a Republican activist from Ben Wheeler, received about 25 percent of the vote.
Whoever wins the January special election will be the state representative for House District 2, but the seat will be up for grabs once again later this year. The Republican Party primary election is March 5. Both Money and Dutton have filed for that election. The winner of the GOP primary will be the presumptive victor in the November general election, as no Democrats have filed to run.
Tomorrow evening’s debate in Canton will be hosted by the Van Zandt County Republican Party at the Van Zandt County Farm Bureau located at 220 Burnett Trail. The public is invited – the debate scheduled to begin at 6 p.m.
