Area voters can begin making their selections in primary elections when the early voting period opens Tuesday, February 17.
Hill County will have early voting locations open in Hillsboro, Whitney and Hubbard until Friday, February 27. Election Day will be Tuesday, March 3.
Early voting will be conducted at the Hill County Covington Street Annex, located at 126 South Covington Street in Hillsboro; the Hill County Precinct 1 Annex, located at 5800 FM 933 in Whitney (Huron); and the Hubbard Civic Center, located at 300 North Magnolia in Hubbard.
The main early voting location in Hillsboro will have extended hours, while the Whitney and Hubbard locations will be open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays.
In Hillsboro, hours will be 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. from Tuesday, February 17 through Saturday, February 21; 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, February 22; and 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday, February 23 through Friday, February 27.
Both the Republican and Democratic parties have races to decide at the top of the ballot ahead of November’s general election, and county-level races will be decided in the Republican primary, with candidates having no Democratic challengers in November.
Locally, incumbent Justin Lewis and Stephanie Johnson are both seeking the 66th District judge’s seat in the Republican primary.
Incumbent Rachel Parker will face Peggy Mann Lidster on the Republican ballot as they both seek the county treasurer position.
Two county commissioners will also face challengers in the Republican primary, with incumbent Martin Lake joined by David Gelsthorpe and Allan Awtrey in the Precinct 4 race and incumbent Larry Crumpton facing Alpha “Gigi” Bailey-Ward in the Precinct 2 race.
There will also be a contested race on the Republican ballot for Precinct 2 party chair, with Wayne Hamilton and C. Keith Thomas both seeking the spot.
Incumbent District 13 State Representative Angelia Orr will face Kathaleen “Kat” Wall on the Republican ballot. Albert Hunter of Bosque County is the only candidate seeking the nomination on the Democratic Party’s ballot.
In the race for District 22 state senator, David Cook, Jon Gimble and Rena Schroeder will seek the Republican nomination, while Amy Martinez-Salas is the only Democratic candidate on the ballot.
The political parties will also present propositions to voters on the ballot. The non-binding propositions are intended to survey voters on key party platform issues.
Candidates and ballot propositions are listed below. Candidates are listed in the order they appear on the Hill County ballot.
REPUBLICAN PRIMARY
• United States Senator: Sara Canady, Gulrez “Gus” Khan, Virgil John Bierschwale, Anna Bender, Ken Paxton, John O. Adefope, Wesley Hunt, John Cornyn
• US Representative, Dist. 17: Pete Sessions
•Governor: Arturo Espinosa, Mark V. Goloby, Evelyn Brooks, Kenneth Hyde, Pete “Doc” Chambers, Nathaniel Welch, Greg Abbott, Charles Andrew Crouch, Stephen Samuelson, R.F. “Bob” Achgill, Ronnie Tullos
• Lieutenant Governor: Timothy Mabry, Dan Patrick, Perla Munoz Hopkins, Esala Wueschner
• Attorney General: Chip Roy, Joan Huffman, Mayes Middleton, Aaron Reitz
• Comptroller of Public Accounts: Don Huffines, Michael Berlanga, Kelly Hancock, Christi Craddick
• Commissioner of the General Land Office: Dawn Buckingham
• Commissioner of Agriculture: Nate Sheets, Sid Miller
• Railroad Commissioner: Jim Wright, Katherine Culbert, James “Jim” Matlock, Hawk Dunlap, Bo French
• Chief Justice, Supreme Court: Jimmy Blacklock
• Justice, Supreme Court, Place 2, Unexpired Term: James P. Sullivan
• Justice, Supreme Court, Place 7: Kyle Hawkins
• Justice, Supreme Court, Place 8: Brett Busby
• Judge, Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 3: Alison Fox, Lesli Fitzpatrick, Thomas Smith, Brent Coffee
• Judge, Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 4: Kevin Patrick Yeary
• Judge, Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 9: John Messinger, Jennifer Balido
• Member, State Board of Education, Dist. 14: Mindy Bumgarner
• State Senator, Dist. 22: Rena Schroeder, Jon Gimble, David Cook
• State Representative, Dist. 13: Angelia Orr, Kathaleen “Kat” Wall
• Chief Justice, 15th Court of Appeals District: Scott Brister
• Justice, 15th Court of Appeals District, Place 2: Scott K. Field
• Justice, 15th Court of Appeals District, Place 3: April Farris
• Justice, 10th Court of Appeals District, Place 2: Lee Harris
• District Judge, 66th Judicial District: Stephanie Johnson, Justin W. Lewis
• County Judge: Shane Brassell
• Judge, County Court-at-Law: Matt Crain
• District Clerk: Marchel M. Eubank
• County Clerk: Nicole Tanner
• County Treasurer: Rachel Parker, Peggy Mann Lidster
• County Surveyor: Jessie Joseph (Joe) Ince
• County Commissioner, Precinct 2: Larry Crumpton, Alpha “Gigi” Bailey-Ward
• County Commissioner, Precinct 4: Martin Lake, David Gelsthorpe, Allan Awtrey
• Justice of the Peace, Precinct 1: Doyle “Trey” Jetton
• Justice of the Peace, Precinct 2: Mark Hammonds
• Justice of the Peace, Precinct 3: Shannon Skilling
• Justice of the Peace, Precinct 4: Charles Jones
• Precinct 2 Chair: Wayne Hamilton, C. Keith Thomas
• County Chair: Will Orr
• Proposition 1: Texas property taxes should be assessed at the purchase price and phased out entirely over the next six years through spending reductions.
• Proposition 2: Texas should require any local government budget that raises property taxes to be approved by voters at a November general election.
• Proposition 3: Texas should prohibit denial of healthcare or any medical service based solely on the patient’s vaccination status.
• Proposition 4: Texas should require its public schools to teach that life begins at fertilization.
• Proposition 5: Texas should ban gender, sexuality, and reproductive clinics and services in K-12 schools.
• Proposition 6: Texas should enact term limits on all elected officials.
• Proposition 7: Texas should ban the large-scale export or sale of our groundwater and surface water to any single private or public entity.
• Proposition 8: The Texas Legislature should reduce the burden of illegal immigration on taxpayers by ending public services for illegal aliens.
• Proposition 9: The Republican-controlled Texas Legislature should stop awarding leadership positions, including committee and subcommittee chairmanships and vice chairmanships, to Democrats.
• Proposition 10: Texas should prohibit Sharia Law.
DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY
• United States Senator: Ahmad R. Hassan, James Talarico, Jasmine Crockett
• US Representative, Dist. 17: Milah Flores, Casey Shepard, J Gordon Mitchell
• Governor: Bobby Cole, Carlton W. Hart, Jose Navarro Balbuena, Chris Bell, Angela “Tia Angie” Villescaz, Zach Vance, Patrica Abrego, Gina Hinojosa, Andrew White
• Lieutenant Governor: Courtney Head, Vikki Goodwin, Marcos Isaias Velez
• Attorney General: Joe Jaworski, Nathan Johnson, Anthony “Tony” Box
• Comptroller of Public Accounts: Savant Moore, Michael Lange, Sarah Eckhardt
• Commissioner of the General Land Office: Benjamin Flores, Jose Loya
• Commissioner of Agriculture: Clayton Tucker
• Railroad Commissioner: Jon Rosenthal
• Chief Justice, Supreme Court: Cory L. Carlyle, Maggie Ellis
• Justice, Supreme Court, Place 2, Unexpired Term: Chari Kelly
• Justice, Supreme Court, Place 7: Kristen Hawkins, Gordon Goodman
• Justice, Supreme Court, Place 8: Gisela D. Triana
• Judge, Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 3: Okey Anyiam
• Judge, Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 4: Audra Riley
• Judge, Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 9: Holly Taylor
• Member, State Board of Education, Dist. 14: Amy Taylor
• State Senator, Dist. 22: Amy Martinez-Salas
• State Representative, Dist. 13: Albert Hunter
• Chief Justice, 15th Court of Appeals District: Jerry Zimmerer
• Justice, 15th Court of Appeals District, Place 2: Tom Baker
• Justice, 15th Court of Appeals District, Place 3: Marc M. Meyer
• County Chair: Thom Hanson
• Proposition 1: Texas should expand Medicaid and ensure access to affordable healthcare for all.
• Proposition 2: Texans should support humane and dignified immigration policies and pathways to citizenship.
• Proposition 3: Texans should have the right to make their own healthcare decisions, including reproductive rights.
• Proposition 4: Texas should address the state’s housing crisis in affordability and access in both urban and rural communities.
• Proposition 5: Texas should fund all public schools at the same per-pupil rate as the national average.
• Proposition 6: Secure online voter registration should be accessible to all eligible Texas residents.
• Proposition 7: Texas should have a clean and healthy environment that includes water, air, and biodiversity. Texas must preserve the state’s natural, cultural, scenic, and recreational resources.
• Proposition 8: Texas should legalize cannabis for adults and automatically expunge criminal records for past low-level cannabis offenses.
• Proposition 9: Texas should raise salaries to at least the national average and should provide a cost-of-living increase based on the national Consumer Price Index every two years to current/retired school and state employees.
• Proposition 10: Texas should ban racially motivated redistricting, ban mid-decade redistricting, and create a non-partisan redistricting board to redraw lines every 10 years.
• Proposition 11: The Working Class should be eligible for greater federal income tax relief and have their tax burden fairly shifted onto the wealthiest.
• Proposition 12: Texas should expand accessible public transportation opportunities in rural and urban communities so residents can get to their workplaces, schools, and healthcare.
• Proposition 13: Texas should prevent individuals with a history of domestic abuse from purchasing firearms by implementing “red flag” laws.
BOSQUE COUNTY
INFORMATION:
Early voting in Bosque County will be conducted at the Elections Administration Office, 104 West Morgan in Meridian, and the Clifton Civic Center, 403 West 3rd Street in Clifton. Early voting hours in Bosque County are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday, February 17 through Friday, February 20; 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, February 21; 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday, February 22; and 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday, February 23 through Friday, February 27.
At the county level, contested Bosque County races on the Republican ballot will be: County Judge – Al Poteet and Cindy Vanlandingham; Precinct 4 Commissioner – Ronny Liardon and John Payne.
The Lakelander 