FORNEY, Texas – Two Forney candidates, in a four-way race, will advance into a runoff election for Kaufman County 86th District Court Judge in May.
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Casey Blair and Wade Gent, who garnered the most votes, were among four candidates vying for the position after long-time Judge Howard Tygrett announced he would not be seeking reelection last year. Rebecca Calabria and Raymond Shackeldford also joined in the race.
Because none of the candidates received over 50 percent of the votes, Blair and Gent will head into the runoff election on May 27, 2014. Blair led the primaries with 36.58 percent of the total votes with 3,341. Gent, who currently serves as the Associate Municipal Judge in Forney, was not far behind with 35.07 percent of the votes with 3,203. Calabria and Shackelford received 15.93 and 12.43 percent of the votes, respectively.
Early voting in the runoff election will be May 19 through May 23, according to Kaufman County election officials. Runoff election day will be May 27, 2014.
Both candidates responded humbly to the news of the runoff which was expected with such a high pool of qualified candidates.
“We are incredibly grateful to have made it into the runoff. To have done so in such a qualified field of candidates is truly a blessing. We are so thankful to all our supporters and pray they will continue to support us during this next phase,” said Blair in a statement to inForney.com on Wednesday morning.
Also in a Wednesday morning statement, Gent told inForney.com, “I am honored and humbled by the show of confidence by the voters of Kaufman County and I appreciate the dedication and professionalism shown by all of my opponents. Mr. Blair is an honorable young man and a worthy adversary in court and in politics. I look forward to a clean runoff campaign based on qualifications and experience.”
Because none of the candidates received over 50 percent of the votes, Blair and Gent will head into the runoff election on May 27, 2014. Blair led the primaries with 36.58 percent of the total votes with 3,341. Gent, who currently serves as the Associate Municipal Judge in Forney, was not far behind with 35.07 percent of the votes with 3,203. Calabria and Shackelford received 15.93 and 12.43 percent of the votes, respectively.
Early voting in the runoff election will be May 19 through May 23, according to Kaufman County election officials. Runoff election day will be May 27, 2014.
Both candidates responded humbly to the news of the runoff which was expected with such a high pool of qualified candidates.
“We are incredibly grateful to have made it into the runoff. To have done so in such a qualified field of candidates is truly a blessing. We are so thankful to all our supporters and pray they will continue to support us during this next phase,” said Blair in a statement to inForney.com on Wednesday morning.
Also in a Wednesday morning statement, Gent told inForney.com, “I am honored and humbled by the show of confidence by the voters of Kaufman County and I appreciate the dedication and professionalism shown by all of my opponents. Mr. Blair is an honorable young man and a worthy adversary in court and in politics. I look forward to a clean runoff campaign based on qualifications and experience.”