North Texas Daily

For this midterm election, local candidates faced off for House Districts 63, 65 and 106 in Denton County.

Representative Tan Parker, Republican, served as House District 63 representative for eleven years, with his latest term originally set to end in 2019. Parker describes himself as a “lifelong conservative” on his site and feels strongly about border security, creating new jobs and reducing taxes for fiscal responsibility.

In opposition for District 63 was Democrat Laura Haines, from Flower Mound, Texas. Haines has said he was “jolted awake” politically when Trump was confirmed as president, according to her website. Haines felt strongly about raising the minimum wage, decriminalizing marijuana and “sensible” gun laws, according to the Dallas Morning News.

As typically expected for incumbents, Parker defeated Haines with a significant lead. After an opening with 67.07 percent of votes as opposed to Haines’ 32.93 percent, Parker’s percentage of votes only rose to 67.7 percent, stumping Haines’ 32.29 percent at 88.89 percent of precincts reported.

Republican Representative Ron Simmons served as House District 65 representative for five years, with his latest term set to end in 2019. Amongst his campaign themes were securing the border, opposing Obamacare and federal mandates, cutting government spending and promoting jobs.

In opposition was Democrat Michelle Beckley, a Texas A&M biomedical science graduate with experience as a business owner. According to her website, Beckley feels strongly about common sense gun control, Medicaid expansion and pro-clean energy policies.

A close race overall, with the opening ballot data reporting 49.77 percent for Simmons and 50.23 percent for Beckley, by 88.89 percent of precincts reported, Beckley had risen to 50.79 percent and Simmons dropped to 49.20 percent.

Racing to occupy the soon-to-be vacant representative seat for District 106 once occupied by Representative Pat Fallon were Ramona Thompson and Jared Patterson.

Thompson, Democrat, a Frisco native who once owned a secretarial service for eleven years first forayed into politics when she turned 18 by hosting the first 18-year-old voter registration drive at her high school, according to her site.

Patterson, Republican, also a Frisco native, worked as a business executive before running for office. According to his site, Patterson holds conservative values when it comes to property taxes, border security, abortion and the Second Amendment.

Patterson led significantly from the beginning, with a 58.47 percent lead over Thompson’s 41.53 percent. When 89.89 of precincts were reported, Patterson’s lead became 58.64 percent to Thompson’s 41.35 percent.