AUSTIN — A run-off is likely in the special election to replace ousted state Rep. Bryan Slaton of Royse City as no candidate appears likely to receive a majority of the votes, according to unofficial results Tuesday night.
Republican Brent Money of Greenville leads with almost one-third of the vote just after 9:45 p.m., according to the Secretary of State website. Money’s opponent in the run-off is almost certain to be a Republican — either Heath Hyde of Sulphur Springs or Jill Dutton of Ben Wheeler — as the lone Democrat is in fourth place and thousands of votes behind.
Dutton holds an almost 600-vote lead over Hyde after previously trailing him by about 500 votes as votes kept rolling in Tuesday. Exactly 55 of the 76 polling locations have reported.
Money is backed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and some hard-right groups.
In a statement late Tuesday, Money said Republicans in the Texas House, including Speaker Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, tired to “purchase a seat for their chosen liberal candidate Jill Dutton, who has a record of raising taxes, supporting Democrats in power” and not supporting parents.
Hyde held a lead over Dutton when results first came out about an hour ago but she has now surpassed him. Votes, however, are still being counted.
If no candidate receives a majority of votes, the two candidates with the most votes will compete in a runoff election that would take place sometime in early 2024.
Dutton, a former school board member, said in a phone interview late Tuesday that she listened to voters who told her their top priorities are securing the U.S-Mexico border and lowering property taxes.
“We’re just going to keep hitting our same message about securing the border and lowering property taxes,” she said when asked about the special election. “They’re very concerned about the border, they see it on TV every single night.”
Dutton said she would start campaigning for the run-off Wednesday.
The seat has been a Republican stronghold, so it will be an uphill challenge for the Democratic candidate, Kristen Washington, a former Greenville City Council member.
The other Republican candidates in the race are Doug Roszhart of Greenville, who has received close to 11% and Krista Schild of Royse City, who has received 2%. Democrat Kristen Washington has gotten 13%.
The GOP candidates who have appeared to garner the most attention are Dutton, a former school board member, and Money, a former Greenville City Council member.
Dutton has outraised all of the candidates and has been endorsed by several current Republicans in the Texas House, including Rep. Stephanie Klick of Fort Worth and Frisco Rep. Jared Patterson. Former Gov. Rick Perry also has thrown his support behind her.
Money has received support from more hard-right segments of the Republican Party. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has thrown his support behind Money. So has Matt Rinaldi, a former Dallas County representative, who is the current chair of the Texas Republican Party.
Money has also received $35,000 from the hard-right political group Defend Texas Liberty. The group has received scrutiny in the past month after the leader of the group, former lawmaker Jonathan Stickland, met with white supremacist and Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes, according to The Texas Tribune.
In recent weeks, Money has also sought to push back against past social media posts where he criticized former President Donald Trump.
Republicans have an 85-64 advantage in the Texas House. Whoever ends up getting the seat would finish Slaton’s term that ends in January 2025.
Slaton resigned from the House after a House ethics panel investigation accused him of providing alcohol to a 19-year-old legislative staffer and then having sex with her. The chamber still expelled him in May in an overwhelming vote, 147-0.
He was the first House member to be expelled in almost a century. In his resignation letter, the former two-term lawmaker did not acknowledge any misconduct.
