Rep. Kyle Kacal (R-College Station) finished with 47 percent of the vote. He will face Ben Bius, the second place hopeful who followed closely behind with 42 percent of the vote. A third candidate, Joshua Hamm, failed to make the runoff with 11 percent.
Kacal represents House District (HD) 12, which now includes Robertson, Madison, Walker, Grimes, and Washington counties, as well as a portion of Brazos County. It is rated R-72% on The Texan’s Texas Partisan Index.
Running for a second term in office, HD 60 Rep. Glenn Rogers (R-Graford) fell short of an outright victory with 44 percent of the vote on primary day. He will compete in the runoff against Mike Olcott, who received 36 percent of the ballots. Two other vote-getters, Kit Marshall and Lucas Turner, received 12 percent and 9 percent respectively and did not advance to the runoff.
Rogers was first elected in 2020 after winning the Republican runoff with Jon Francis to succeed Rep. Mike Lang (R-Granbury). After redistricting, HD 60 includes Parker, Palo Pinto, and Stephens counties and is rated R-84% on the Texas Partisan Index.
Though Rep. Phil Stephenson (R-Wharton) came in first with 40 percent of the vote, he will now face off with second place vote-getter Stan Kitzman, who finished with 35 percent of the ballots. Contenders Art Hernandez and Fred Roberts did not receive enough votes to advance to the runoff.
Stephenson’s district, HD 85, is rated R-68% on the Texas Partisan Index and includes Fayette, Austin, Waller, and Wharton counties, as well as a portion of Fort Bend County. He was first elected to the Texas House in 2001.
In Tarrant County, Rep. Stephanie Klick (R-Fort Worth) is headed for a runoff with David Lowe. Klick finished with 49 percent of the vote compared to Lowe’s 39 percent. The district is rated R-63% on the Texas Partisan Index.
Unlike Kacal and Klick, Rogers and Stephenson were not endorsed by Gov. Greg Abbott.
Stephenson and Kacal were on a list of 11 Republicans who supported the expansion of Medicaid during the 87th Legislature’s regular session.
###
Disclosure: Unlike almost every other media outlet, The Texan is not beholden to any special interests, does not apply for any type of state or federal funding, and relies exclusively on its readers for financial support. If you’d like to become one of the people we’re financially accountable to, click here to subscribe.
Hayden Sparks
Hayden Sparks is a senior reporter for The Texan and a lifelong resident of the Lone Star State. He has coached competitive speech and debate and has been involved in politics since a young age. One of Hayden's favorite quotes is by Sam Houston: "Texas has yet to learn submission to any oppression, come from what source it may."
