With all votes tallied, Justin Ray has won the Republican primary race for Texas House District 135, according to unofficial results. Ray finished with 83.85% of the vote, defeating his primary opponent, Merrliee Beazley. Ray netted 7,397 votes in total compared to Beazley's 1,425 votes.
"I want to thank the Republican voters of House District 135 for their vote of confidence," Ray said in an election night phone call. "I look forward to a spirited discussion on the opportunities and challenges facing northwest Harris County and the great state of Texas. We’re going to enjoy the evening and roll up sleeves tomorrow morning and start looking toward November."
Ray, who formerly served as mayor of the city of Jersey Village, ran on a platform of improving funding for public schools, keeping taxes and regulations low, and supporting Texas values, including Second Amendment rights and religious liberty.
In a previous interview with Community Impact Newspaper, Ray also cited the importance of flood mitigation and his experience with the issue in Jersey Village.
"As mayor of Jersey Village, I oversaw the development of a long-term flood mitigation program that resulted in over $6.5 million in flood infrastructure grants," Ray said. "My legislative priorities will involve identifying additional ways the state can participate as the local sponsor in critical FEMA infrastructure projects as our city did."
With his victory, Ray is set to face off against Democratic incumbent Jon Rosenthal in the general election in November.
All results are unofficial until canvassed.
Posted 7:43 p.m. March 3
With early voting results in March 3, Justin Ray is leading the Republican primary race for Texas House District 135 with 86.08% of the vote, or 4,299 votes.
Merrilee Beazley, the only other Republican running in the race, has 13.92% of the votes, or 695 votes.
Texas House District 135 represents parts of northwest Houston, including Jersey Village, where Ray formerly served as mayor, and the Copperfield area.
The winner of the Republican primary will go on to face Democratic incumbent state Rep. Jon Rosenthal, D-Houston, in the general election in Novmeber. Rosenthal is running unopposed in the Democratic primary. Rosenthal first won the seat in 2018, defeating 23-year Republican incumbent Gary Elkins 51% to 48%.
Read a Q&A with the two Republican candidates here.
In primary elections, Texas voters who register with either the Democratic or Republican party can choose which candidates they think should represent that party on ballots during the November general election, including in the race for U.S. president, the U.S. senator seat occupied by Sen. John Cornyn and a number of other national, state and local races.
All results are unofficial until canvassed.
