North Texas Daily

News Staff

It’s a big day in the United States. Not only will voters from 11 states cast their ballots for president, they’ll vote for state legislators, chairpeople, sheriffs, congressmen and commissioners.

The world is watching the presidential race. And here in Texas, we’ll see if Ted Cruz can outlast Donald Trump in the senator’s home state.

Here in Denton, there are few key races we want you to be aware of.

Denton County sheriff

The buildup to this election has been turbulent to say the least for incumbent Republican Sheriff Will Travis. Several news articles and attacks by his opponent, Tracy Murphree, have left voters questioning his past. Travis has also “released” all of his endorsements. But they were dropping out anyway.

There is no Democratic challenger, so we’ll know if Denton County elects a new sheriff.

Texas House District 64

Republican Myra Crownover held this seat for a while, but she retired after the last session. There are three Republicans and two Democrats trying to replace her. From the GOP, Read King, who has run for this office before, Lynn Stucky and Rick Hagen will try to move on to the general election to face either UNT media arts student Connor Flanagan or Paul Greco in November.

County GOP chairman

The Denton County Republican Party hasn’t allowed a Democrat to be elected in a partisan office in more than 14 years. So this race, to replace chairwoman Dianne Edmondson, has our attention. Lisa Hendrickson, a GOP activist, and Kelly Sayre, a current vice chairman of the county GOP, want to lead this party into the future. The Denton County Republican Party is widely considered a driving force in the state’s politics.

U.S. Congressional District 26

Republican incumbent Rep. Michael Burgess looks to hold on to his long-held seat in a race against challengers Micah Beebe and Joel Krause. Whomever wins, they’ll face unchallenged Democrat Eric Muack.

Texas railroad commissioner

A lot of people underestimate the importance of the railroad commissioner. It’s probably because they don’t know what that position entails. This person is charged with regulating oil and gas operations. So when you think about Denton’s battle against hydraulic fracturing, this race resonates with voters here. There are seven Republicans and three Democrats running.