SD 17 Runoff: Huffman Defeats Bell December 17, 2008

The final numbers:

Huffman: 56%

Bell: 44%

When former congressman and city councilmember  Chris Bell didn’t win on election night November 4, most political analysts said the odds were against him defeating Republican Joan Huffman in the runoff race for the State Senate District 17 seat.

Bell, a democrat,   finished in first place in the general election.

The district leans republican, so that gave Huffman, a former judge, the advantage. 

Without Senator Barack Obama on the top of the ticket, there was less incentive for democratic voters to return to the polls to decide the runoff.

Jared Woodfill, the Chairman of the Harris County Republican Party released the following statement after Huffman’s overwhelmingly victory Tuesday night:

 Joan Huffman easily vanquished perennial candidate Chris Bell in the Special Runoff Election in State Senate District 17. She led in early voting by a 2-1 margin and never looked back, crusing to win with 56% of the vote. We offer our congratulations to Joan Huffman on her well-run campaign as she protected our Republican majority in the Texas Senate.

 

 

Runoff Set in SD-17 November 17, 2008

Former Democratic Congressman Chris Bell and Former Republican State District Judge Joan Huffman will face off in what many predict will be a very tough runoff race for the State Senate District 17 seat.

On November 4, Bell finished first in a race with six candidates, but the runoff could be much tougher.

The district leans republican, and without  Senator Barack Obama on the top of the ballot, some democrats could be less motivated to return to the polls. 

From the Governor’s office:

AUSTIN – Gov. Rick Perry today announced a special runoff election to fill the vacancy in Senate District 17 to be held on Dec. 16, 2008. A special election to fill the seat left vacant by the resignation of Sen. Kyle Janek was held during the November 4 general election; however no candidate received a majority of the votes, as mandated by state law.

 Early voting will run from December 8 through December 12. 

The winner of this special election will serve out the remainder of Sen. Janek’s term, which expires in January 2011.