Editor’s Note: This story has been updated with Smith County’s final report of the night. All results are considered unofficial until they are canvassed.
The final results of the night have been posted in Smith County’s 2026 joint primary election. Results are unofficial until they’re canvassed.
In Smith County’s Republican Primary, challenger Gaye Boynton cruised to victory to lead the district clerk’s office with 67% of the vote over incumbent Penny Clarkston, who received 33% of the vote, according to unofficial results. In a tight race, Austin Luce appeared to get the nod as the Republican nominee for the Precinct 2 commissioner nomination with 53% of the vote compared to Catherine Roots’ 47% of the vote. Luce will face Democratic candidate Dustin Gray Stephens in November. Stephens was unopposed in Tuesday’s primary, garnering 2,263 votes.
In another close race, incumbent Judge Andy Dunklin appeared to secure the victory to continue serving as Precinct 2 Justice of the Peace with 52% of the vote compared to Shawn Scott’s 48%. In the Precinct 3 JP race, Tim McDonald led the way with 63% of the vote while Kyle Stowers came behind at 28% and Rod Langlinais received 9% of the vote. In the Precinct 4 JP race, incumbent Judge Curtis Wulf will continue serving after receiving 60% of the vote compared to challenger Sam Griffith, who received 40% of the vote.
In Smith County’s Democratic Primary, Judge Derrick Choice cleared a smooth win to continue representing Precinct 1 as its justice of the peace, garnering 72% of the vote. Challenger Dalila Reynoso received 28% of the vote. For county chair, newcomer Kristen Hardin-Sigler received the most votes at 67% while incumbent Cam Ray was unseated with just 33%.
Smith County residents cast ballots for federal, state and local candidates in either the Democratic or Republican Party. In the primaries, voters determined which candidates of each party will go on to face each other in the general election on Nov. 3. Some were unopposed and others didn’t face any opposition from the other party, so many races were decided from tonight’s results. Others, like the governor’s race, will be decided in November as voters choose between the two primary winners. Other results, including local precinct chairs, are listed below.
VOTER TURNOUT
The overall voter turnout was nearly 28%, according to Smith County. There were 161, 770 registered voters and 44,869 total ballots were cast — 29,831 in the Republican Primary and 15,038 in the Democratic Primary. The majority of voters turned out during early voting.
SMITH COUNTY UNOFFICIAL RESULTS
*These results are not considered official. Those marked ‘winner’ are the nominee for their party in the November General Election. Some will face opposition from the other party while others who are unopposed will ultimately be elected. The following results are as reported in Smith County’s final report Tuesday night, which was published just before 10:30 p.m. Smith County races in both primaries are listed first; results on how Smith County voted in federal and state races are listed after the local races. For a full list of results, including unopposed races, please visit smith-county.com .
2026 Republican Primary contested races
Smith County
Penny Clarkson (Incumbent) 8,207 votes, 32.88%
WINNER: Gaye Boynton 16,752 votes, 67.12%
County Commissioner Precinct 2
WINNER: Austin Luce 4,064 votes, 53.44%
Catherine Roots 3,541 votes, 46.56%
Justice of the Peace Precinct 2
WINNER: Andy Dunklin (Incumbent) 5,555 votes, 51.80%
Shawn Scott 5,169 votes, 48.20%
Justice of the Peace Precinct 3
Rod Langlinais 646 votes, 9.03%
Kyle S. Stowers 2,009 votes, 28.07%
WINNER: Tim McDonald 4,502 votes, 62.90%
Justice of the Peace Precinct 4
Sam Griffith 931 votes, 39.55%
WINNER: Curtis Wulf (Incumbent) 1,423 votes, 60.45%
Precinct Chair for Election Precinct 115
WINNER: Matthew Milam 317 votes, 54.75%
Logan Underwood 262 votes, 45.25%
Precinct Chair for Election Precinct 142
WINNER: Charles Turner (Incumbent) 306 votes, 62.96%
Jesse Constante 180 votes, 37.04%
Precinct Chair for Election Precinct 209
WINNER: Beth Counts 282 votes, 61.71%
Marcia Garrett 175 votes, 38.29%
Precinct Chair for Election Precinct 218
Izzy Gentry 34 votes, 26.36%
WINNER: Rick Vaughan 95 votes, 73.64%
Precinct Chair for Election Precinct 224
Eric A. Spaude 272 votes, 40.66%
WINNER: Sharon Emmert 397 votes, 59.34%
Precinct Chair for Election Precinct 330
WINNER: Laurel Maynard (Incumbent) 223 votes, 74.09%
Roger P. Puetz 78 votes, 25.91%
2026 Democratic Primary contested races
WINNER: Derrick Choice (Incumbent) 3,133 votes, 71.69%
Dalila Reynoso 1,237 votes, 28.31%
Cam Ray (Incumbent) 3,931 votes, 32.70%
WINNER: Kristen Hardin-Sigler 8,090 votes, 67.30%
Precinct Chair for Election Precinct 209
Kenith Freeman 159 votes, 48.18%
WINNER: Joan Bruckwicki 171 votes, 51.82%
Federal and state 2026 Republican Primary contested races
Federal
U.S. senator
John Cornyn 14,016 votes, 48.13%
Sara Canady 264 votes, 0.91%
Gulrez “Gus” Khan 90 votes, 0.31%
Anna Bender 147 votes, 0.50%
Wesley Hunt 3,702 votes, 12.71%
Virgil John Bierschwale 71 votes, 0.24%
Ken Paxton 10,722 votes, 36.82%
John O. Adefope 109 votes, 0.37%
State
Governor
R.F. “Bob” Achgill 115 votes, 0.39%
Charles Andrew Crouch 193 votes, 0.66%
Mark V. Goloby 65 votes, 0.22%
Kenneth Hyde 124 votes, 0.43%
Nathaniel Welch 185 votes, 0.63%
Stephen Samuelson 64 votes, 0.22%
Evelyn Brooks 315 votes, 1.08%
Pete “Doc” Chambers 2,668 votes, 9.16%
Ronnie Tullos 59 votes, 0.20%
Arturo Espinosa 176 votes, 0.60%
Greg Abbott 25,174 votes, 86.40%
Lieutenant governor
Timothy Mabry 2,416 votes, 8.62%
Perla Munoz Hopkins 819 votes, 2.92%
Esala Wueschner 188 votes, 0.67%
Dan Patrick 24,610 votes, 87.79%
Attorney general
Aaron Reitz 2,578 votes, 9.27%
Mayes Middleton 12,271 votes, 44.12%
Chip Roy 9,612 votes, 34.56%
Joan Huffman 3,351 votes, 12.05%
Comptroller of public accounts
Michael Berlanga 633 votes, 2.26%
Christi Craddick 3,172 votes, 11.35%
Don Huffines 18,583 votes, 66.48%
Kelly Hancock 5,566 votes, 19.91%
Commissioner of agriculture
Sid Miller 9,822 votes, 37.19%
Nate Sheets 16,587 votes, 62.81%
Railroad commissioner
Jim Wright 10,024 votes, 38.89%
Hawk Dunlap 1,410 votes, 5.47%
Katherine Culbert 1,654 votes, 6.42%
Bo French 8,259 votes, 32.04%
James (Jim) Matlock 4,429 votes, 17.18%
Judge, Court of Criminal Appeals Place 3
Lesli Fitzpatrick 3,769 votes, 16.01%
Thomas Smith 8,819 votes, 37.47%
Alison Fox 7,455 votes, 31.68%
Brent Coffee 3,492 votes, 14.84%
Judge, Court of Criminal Appeals Place 9
Jennifer Balido 6,499 votes, 27.82%
John Messinger 16,858 votes, 72.18%
Member, State Board of Education, District 9
Kason Huddleston 16,696 votes, 71.17%
Stephen Yearout 2,584 votes, 11.02%
Rachel Hogue 4,178 votes, 17.81%
State Rep District 5
Cole Hefner 4,850 votes, 83.98%
Dewey Collier 925 votes, 16.02%
Federal and state 2026 Democratic Primary contested races
Federal
U.S. senator
James Talarico 6,001 votes, 40.42%
Ahmid R. Hassan 146 votes, 0.98%
Jasmine Crockett 8,699 votes, 58.59%
U.S. representative, District 1
Dax Alexander 4,026 votes, 30.48%
Yolanda R. Prince 6,321 votes, 47.85%
Masika Akilah Ray 1,435 votes, 10.86%
Tracy Andrus 1,428 votes, 10.81%
State
Governor
Jose Navarro Balbuena 919 votes, 6.67%
Angela “Tiaangie” Villescaz 1,191 votes, 8.64%
Zach Vance 349 votes, 2.53%
Carlton W. Hart 505 votes, 3.66%
Patricia Abrego 558 votes, 4.05%
Gina Hinojosa 6,294 votes, 45.67%
Andrew White 514 votes, 3.73%
Bobby Cole 2,026 votes, 14.70%
Chris Bell 1,426 votes, 10.35%
Lieutenant governor
Marcos Isaias Velez 4,048 votes, 31.03%
Courtney Head 3,059 votes, 23.45%
Vikki Goodwin 5,938 votes, 45.52%
Attorney general
Joe Jaworski 4,500 votes, 35.18%
Anthony “Tony” Box 3,089 votes, 24.15%
Nathan Johnson 5,203 votes, 40.67%
Comptroller of public accounts
Sarah Eckhardt 6,867 votes, 54.78%
Savant Moore 2,446 votes, 19.51%
Michael Lange 3,223 votes, 25.71%
Commissioner of the General Land Office
Benjamin Flores 7,314 votes, 59.31%
Jose Loya 5,017 votes, 40.69%
Chief Justice, Supreme Court
Cory L. Carlyle 3,650 votes, 29.62%
Maggie Ellis 8,672 votes, 70.38%
Justice, Supreme Court, Place 7
Kristen Hawkins 9,682 votes, 78.63%
Gordon Goodman 2,631 votes, 21.37%
How Smith County voted on the survey propositions, how many votes unopposed candidates received and total results can be viewed at www.smith-county.com/236/Current-Election-Results .