CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Six votes separate the two candidates for Kenedy County judge, according to unofficial results released Tuesday night. It is the closest of several tight county races across the Coastal Bend.
Republican Sandra Garcia Heath has 94 votes, or 51.6%. Democrat Chuck Burns has 88 votes, or 48.4%. Kenedy County reported 194 ballots cast among its 268 registered voters, a turnout of about 72%.
Three more races in Kleberg and Bee counties are separated by fewer than 150 votes. All results remain unofficial until each county formally canvasses its vote. Provisional and mail ballots still under review could be added to the totals.
Close races in Kleberg and Bee counties
In Kleberg County, Republican Rudy Madrid leads Democrat Ruben Canales by 148 votes in the race for county judge. Madrid has 4,031 votes, or 50.9%, to 3,883 votes, or 49.1%, for Canales.
The Kleberg County race for constable, Precinct 1, is closer. Republican Tamera Meyers-Rodriguez has 1,030 votes, 58 more than Democrat Alex M. Mata. Write-in candidate Gil Rodriguez drew 118 votes, and 79 other write-in votes were not assigned to a candidate. The winner will serve the rest of an unexpired term.
Democrat Velma Veliz leads Republican Charles Schultz for Kleberg County commissioner, Precinct 2. Veliz has 893 votes, or 53.7%, to 769 votes, or 46.3%, for Schultz.
In Bee County, Republican Jeffrey Sylva leads Democrat Susana Moron by 87 votes for the unexpired term in commissioner, Precinct 3. Sylva has 931 votes, or 52.5%, to 844 votes, or 47.5%, for Moron.
Bee County’s preliminary reconciliation report lists 59 provisional ballots and 41 mail ballots as rejected or pending countywide. The report does not say how many of those ballots come from Precinct 3.
In Bee County’s other unexpired commissioner race, in Precinct 1, Republican Michael Montez has 857 votes, or 55.2%. Democrat Carlos Salazar Jr. has 696 votes, or 44.8%.
Wider margins elsewhere
Democrats lead both contested county races in Jim Wells County. Pedro “Pete” Treviño Jr. has 6,071 votes, or 56.4%, for county judge, to 4,698 votes, or 43.6%, for Republican Rey Trejo.
In the Jim Wells County race for commissioner, Precinct 2, Democrat Ventura Garcia Jr. has 1,614 votes, or 59.8%. Republican Pete Beltran has 1,084 votes, or 40.2%. Those totals come from a 9:14 p.m. report, when 17 of 18 polling places had reported.
In Brooks County, Democrat Eric Ramos leads Republican Anthony Jones for county judge, 1,297 votes to 489. That is 72.6% to 27.4%. Republican Javier Alemán leads Democrat Rolando Gutierrez for commissioner, Precinct 2, with 291 votes, or 54.7%, to 241 votes, or 45.3%.
In Refugio County, Republican Gilbert Robles leads Democrat Robelin “Gordo” Revilla Jr. for commissioner, Precinct 4. Robles has 304 votes, or 54%, to 259 votes, or 46%, for Revilla.
In San Patricio County, Republican Tom Yardley has 3,606 votes, or 66.7%, in the race for commissioner, Precinct 2. Democrat Julie Clark has 1,804 votes, or 33.3%.
In Duval County, Democrat Marty Perez has 631 votes, or 85.6%, in the race for commissioner, Precinct 4. Republican Julio Cantu Jr. has 106 votes, or 14.4%.
What happens next
Each county’s commissioners court must canvass, or formally confirm, the results before they become official. Totals may change as election workers review provisional and mail ballots.
