Filing to run for the March 1, 2022, Primary Election closed on Monday, and the final list of candidates has been set – with both parties seeing numerous contests for their respective party nomination to public office.
The Republican Primary saw the most filings, with 28 candidates filing to run, whereas 7 candidates filed in the Democrat Primary, and will see two contested races.
Republican Primary
The top job in the county will see a contested race, as Ector County Judge Debi Hays will face challenger Dustin Fawcett for the GOP nomination. Hays is completing her first term in office.
Incumbent County Commissioner for Precinct 2 Greg Simmons will face two challengers in his bid to seek re-election, facing candidates Billy Tripp and Ryan Patton.
The precinct 4 commissioner’s office had one candidate, Billy Hall, file unopposed for the Republican Primary.
Three Justice of the Peace races will be contested, with several candidates in each race.
Incumbent JP for Precinct 1 Terry Lange will face Steve Brennan and Melissa Gonsales for the spot.
Incumbent Precinct 2 JP Missi Walden will face Paralegal Cynthia Moreno and retired OPD officer Ron Hughes.
Ector County JP for Precinct 3 will see a race for an open seat, with longtime incumbent Judge Woody Kupper not filing for re-election.
The three candidates seeking the nomination to the precinct 3 JP office include court bailiff Earl Graham, Bill Bowen, who is a retired deputy sheriff, and Freddy Redmon, owner of a private security company.
District Clerk Clarissa Webster is seeking re-election and will face Christina Bryson for office.
Meanwhile, State District Judge James Rush announced he would not be seeking re-election to the 244th State District Court, which triggered several local attorneys to seek the court.
Lori Ruiz Crutcher filed along with former Municipal Judge Dennis Jones, and former Ector County Attorney Cindy Weir-Nutter.
Incumbent candidates filing un-opposed include:
-Brooke Hendricks for the County Court at Law
-Christopher Clark for Ector County Court at Law #2
-Jennifer Martin for Ector County Clerk
-Lee McClendon for Ector County Attorney
-Denn Whalen for 70th State District Judge
-John Shrode for 358th State District Judge
-Tisha Crow for Ector County Republican Party Chair
Democrat Primary
Meanwhile, across the political aisle, Ector County Democrats will candidate candidates in three local offices.
Gerardo Arzate was the lone candidate to file to run for Ector County Justice of the Peace in Precinct 3.
Judge Eddy Spivey announced his retirement as the Justice of the Peace in Precinct 4 – and with several filing to run for his open seat.
Elizabeth Baeza filed along with Jessa Porras and Alford Littleton all filed for the open precinct 4 justice court spot.
In addition, precinct 4 Commissioner Armando Rodriguez also filed for re-election, and will face Savannah Morales and Joe Davila in the election.
The last day to register to vote in the March 1, 2022, Primary Election is January 31 – with early voting starting February 14 and continuing until February 25.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct one of the candidate’s background details. We apologize for the error.