Montgomery County Primary Election – recap and results

THE WOODLANDS, TX – The Montgomery County Elections Administrator has released the unofficial results for the 2024 Primary Elections that took place on ‘Super Tuesday,’ March 5. Though all 113 precincts have reported in, the results aren’t considered ‘official’ until submitted to and approved by the Elections Commission.

Montgomery County currently has 430,605 registered votes, and 82,265 of them – or just over 19 percent – cast their ballots.

For the Republican Party, former President Donald Trump easily walked away with more than 80 percent of the vote to take one step closer to being the party’s nominee for the White House. Ted Cruz handily beat his two opponents with nearly 91 percent of the vote to run for reelection to the United States Senate. Congressman Dan Crenshaw, too, won over his challenger Jameson Ellis with 58.5 percent of the vote for the District 2 seat; District 8 incumbent Morgan Luttrell was unopposed for the primaries.

At the state level, Christi Craddock secured the GOP nomination with nearly 70 percent of the vote for Texas Railroad Commissioner. John Devine won with nearly 61 percent of the vote for Justice, Supreme Court Place 4; Place 2’s Jimmy Blacklock and Place 6’s Jane Bland were unopposed for the primary. David J. Schenck took the nomination for Presiding Judge Criminal Court of Appeals, Gina Parker won the court’s Place 7 nomination, while Lee Finley beat out Michelle Slaughter for Place 8. State Senator District 7 Paul Bettencourt was unopposed, as were State Representative District 3’s Cecil Bell and District 16’s Will Metcalf. For State Representative District 18, Janis Holt prevailed over two opponents to secure 55 percent of the vote, staving off a runoff election.

In one of the most hotly contested races – State Representative District 15 – incumbent Steve Toth beat out challenger Skeeter Hubert to keep the seat until at least the November General Election, with Toth taking nearly two-thirds of the vote.

For Place 3 of the 9th Court of Appeals, Leanne Johnson ran unopposed. The closest race came for the seat for the court’s Place 4, where Kent Chambers narrowly edged out Kenna Siler, 50.8 to 49.2 percent of the vote, possibly triggering a recount.

Several judicial races were unopposed, and keeping their seats for the General (and sometimes, unchallenged, beyond) were 9th District Judge Phil Grant, 410th District Judge Jennifer James Robin, 418th District Judge Tracy A. Gilbert, 435th District Judge Patty Maginnis, 457th District Judge Vince Santini, County Court At Law No. 5 Keith Stewart, District Attorney Brett W Ligon, and County Attorney B.D. Griffin.

One of the most-watched races was for Montgomery County Sheriff, where three men vied for the position. While incumbent Rand Henderson managed to garner 49.97 percent of the vote to primary challenger Wesley Doolittle’s 46 percent, spoiler Kenton Ford grabbed nearly four percent of the vote, forcing a runoff election between Henderson and Doolittle, meaning Henderson was only a couple of hundred votes short of securing the nomination outright.

County Tax Assessor-Collector Tammy McRae, County Commissioner Precinct 1 Robert Walker, Constable Precinct 1 Philip Cash, Constable Precinct 3 Ryan Gable, Constable Precinct 4 Kenneth Rowdy Hayden, and Constable, Precinct 5 Chris Jones all ran unopposed. However, in one intriguing development, County Commissioner 3 – whose jurisdiction includes The Woodlands – incumbent James Noack was ousted by challenger Ritch Wheeler, in a very tight race, 50.8 to 49.2 percent of the vote, possibly sparking a recount call.

Other races included County Chair and Precinct Chairs for the local GOP. All 13 Republican Party propositions easily passed, often with more than 90 percent of the vote.

For the Democratic Party, Joe Biden received nearly 9,000 county votes to secure the Texas nomination for reelection to the Presidency. Colin Allred will challenge Ted Cruise for Senator. Candidate for Congressional District 2, Peter Filler, ran unopposed, as did challenger for District 8 Laura Jones. Katherine Culbert will vie for Texas Railroad Commissioner. For Texas Supreme Court Place 2, DaSean Jones defeated Randy Sarosdy, while Place 4’s Christine Vinh Weems ran unopposed. Place 6’s Democratic nominee will be Bonnie Lee Goldstein.

Nominees for Presiding Judge, Court of Criminal Appeals Holly Taylor; Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 7 Nancy Mulder; and Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 8 Chika Anyiam ran unopposed. Michelle Gwinn secured the nomination for State Senator, District 7, while State Representative, District 16 Democratic candidate Mike Midler ran unopposed. Finally, the race for County Chair - Democratic Party saw Natalie Ward take the nomination.