Cohen leading Tahuahua and Gajdos in Hays County Judge election

Posted 7:35 p.m., Nov. 3

According to unofficial early Hays County election reporting, Democratic candidate Michelle Gutierrez Cohen is leading Republican candidate Geoffrey Tahuahua and Independent candidate Liz 'Sumter' Gajdos for the Hays County Judge position, with 61.41% of votes to Tahuahua’s 34.53% and Gajdos’ 4.06% with 1 of 90 precincts reporting.

What you need to know

Cohen won the Democratic nomination for Hays County Judge in May after running against incumbent Ruben Becerra. Tahuahua ran unopposed in the primary and Gajdos entered the race as an independent. 

The Democratic primary resulted in a runoff election with Cohen securing 58.31% of the votes to Becerra’s 41.69%, according to previous Community Impact reporting. 

The background

A candidate must receive more than 50% of total votes to secure the position. If no candidate receives 50% of the votes, the two who receive the highest percentage will move forward to a runoff election.

Official election results will be canvassed and released on Nov. 9, according to the Hays County website.

Also of note

Nearly 47% of registered voters in the county cast ballots during the early voting period, according to the Hays County Elections Department. There are 204,061 registered voters in Hays County, and—as of Nov. 2—95,659 people voted early.

What’s next?

Community Impact will update this article as more Election Day vote totals are released. All results are unofficial until canvassed. 

Visit https://communityimpact.com/voter-guide to see results from all contested local and state elections in your community.