Tarrant County Republicans won all but one of the contested countywide races.
Both incumbent Tarrant County commissioners held onto their jobs.Precinct 2 Commissioner Andy Nguyen, an Arlington Republican, beat Democrat Kenneth Sanders, 57.1 percent to 42.9 percent, according to unofficial results.Sanders, 40, of Arlington, is self-employed and ran for Congress in 2012.In the Precinct 4 commissioner race, Republican incumbent J.D. Johnson won his eighth term, with 65.1 percent of the vote. Johnson campaigned on a platform of reducing waste in government, holding the line on the county property tax rate, supporting law enforcement and providing infrastructure in newly developed areas.Democrat Steve Lerma, 54, a civil engineer in Fort Worth, had 34.9 percent of the vote. He said his experience in building roads and other infrastructure gives him the knowledge to oversee county road projects.The 297th District judge race saw two challengers vying for the seat vacated by Everett Young. He chose to run for a misdemeanor court but lost in the GOP primary.Republican David Hagerman, a Grapevine resident and chief prosecutor for the Tarrant County district attorney’s office in the 396th District Court, won 61 percent of the vote over Democrat Gwinda Burns, 53, a defense attorney and former chief of the appellate division for the Denton County district attorney’s office, who had 39 percent.In the County Criminal Court No. 2 judicial race, Republican Carey Walker, an Arlington lawyer, won with 61 percent of the vote while Democrat Leon Reed Jr., 46, a Fort Worth attorney, had 39 percent, according to unofficial, incomplete results.Incumbent District Clerk Tom Wilder, a Republican, won with 58 percent of the vote over Democrat Cynthia Toodle, who had 38.8 percent, and Libertarian John Clare, who had 3.1 percent.Republican Ralph Swearingin, the incumbent justice of the peace in Precinct 1, won with 64.1 percent of the vote over Democrat Pilar Candia, who had 35.9 percent.Swearingin, 60, was first elected justice of the peace in 2007.In the race for justice of the peace Precinct 5, the incumbent, Democrat Sergio L. De Leon, won with 62.8 percent of the vote over Republican Cheryl Surber, who had 37.2 percent.De Leon, 43, previously served as a constable for 12 years.Surber, 58, of Fort Worth, owns a small business.In the Precinct 7 justice of the peace race, incumbent Republican Matt Hayes won with 54.8 percent of the vote while Democrat Sandra Lee had 45.2 percent.Hayes, a 57-year-old Mansfield resident, said his focus is to help teenagers realize the “importance and value of earning their high school diploma.” He said he also wants to find ways to improve the efficiency of the court.Lee, 52, a Kennedale resident and a truancy officer for the Mansfield school district, said she was the best candidate because she understands “the community as a whole.”Her top issues were truancy and evictions.Bill Hanna, 817-390-7698 Twitter: @fwhanna
