The open House District (HD) 17 is likely to be represented next session by Stan Gerdes after he edged out Bastrop County Judge Paul Pape on Tuesday.
Gerdes, a former Rick Perry staffer who received ample support from the former governor, won by 325 votes when the dust cleared.
The race began as a five-person field in the primary after state Rep. John Cyrier announced he would forgo re-election. It narrowed to two when Gerdes placed first and after a recount Pape remained in second.
Gerdes far outpaced Pape in fundraising with the help of Perry and other out-of-district connections, while the county judge self-financed a substantial portion of his sum.
On Tuesday, Gerdes won only two of the district’s five counties, including Pape’s home of Bastrop County by a wide 650-vote margin.
Gerdes was also endorsed by Congressmen Pete Sessions (R-TX-17) and Chip Roy (R-TX-21), as well as state Sen. Charles Schwertner (R-Georgetown).
Pape was endorsed by Cyrier and the Texas Farm Bureau AGFUND along with a number of local officials in the district.
The district is heavily GOP-favored, rated R-64% by The Texan’s Texas Partisan Index — assuring Gerdes has a smooth path through November. He’ll face Madeline Eden in the general election.
###
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.
Brad Johnson
Brad Johnson is a senior reporter for The Texan and an Ohio native who graduated from the University of Cincinnati in 2017. He is an avid sports fan who most enjoys watching his favorite teams continue their title drought throughout his cognizant lifetime. In his free time, you may find Brad quoting Monty Python productions and trying to calculate the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow.
