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Republican candidates sweep Frisco elections

By Ann Marie Shambaugh, Staff Writer

Published: Wednesday, November 5, 2008 3:53 PM CST

Republicans made a strong showing in county, state, and federal elections in Frisco districts. With 100 percent of the vote counted several incumbents won by decisive margins in Collin and Denton counties, and other new republicans also received a large percentage of the vote. Voter turnout ran strong in both counties as about 71 percent of registered voters cast ballots.

Collin County Republican Party Chairman Fred Moses said that he was pleased with the voting results across the board in the county.

“This was the first time in my history in Collin County that the Democrats were very aggressive, and they had a big organization that tried to make some inroads in the political process here in Collin County,” Moses said. “I think the outcome � was pretty extraordinary.”

On the other side of the aisle, Collin County Democratic Party Chairman Daniel Dodd said that he expected the Democrats to win at least one local election, but he is pleased with the progress the party is making in a heavily Republican county. He said the organization raised more money and recruited more volunteers this year than ever before.

“We would have liked to have seen some of our candidates get elected, but it is a slow building process here in Collin County,” Dodd said. “It is probably the most Republican county in the state, so we are seeing incremental increases in the number of Democratic voters.”

In Collin County, District 3 U.S. Rep. incumbent Sam Johnson won re-election convincingly with 63 percent of the vote. Democratic challenger Tom Daley earned 34 percent. Libertarian candidate Christopher Claytor has 2 percent.

“Thank you North Texas for this victory. Tonight's win means a lot to me,” Johnson said Tuesday. “Thanks to the help of many volunteers and the support of my family and friends, I fought hard to win this race and feel honored that people voted to return me to Congress.”

District-wide Johnson won 60 percent of the vote compared to 38 percent for Daley and 2 percent for Claytor.

Incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Ralph Hall will head back to Capitol Hill after earning 69 percent of the vote, compared to 29 percent for Democratic candidate Glenn Melancon. Libertarian Fred Annett had 3 percent.

On a night when other U.S. House Republicans lost their seats, Hall acknowledged that the GOP faces an uphill battle in the midst of troubling times.

“Conservative Republicans and Democrats have their work cut out for them,” Hall said.

Collin County’s votes mirrored the percentage of district votes.

In Denton County Republican U.S. Rep. Michael Burgess won re-election with 67 percent of the vote, while Democrat Ken Leach got 29 percent and Libertarian Stephanie Weiss earned 4 percent.

District-wide Burgess won 60 percent of the vote, compared to 36 percent for Leach and 3 percent for Weiss.

Burgess plans to get right to work. He announced today that he plans to run for chairman of the House Republican Policy Committee, which provides a platform for ideas to be introduced and refined.

“The GOP has always been a party of ideas,” Burgess said in a statement. “It’s time we recapture that designation. Under my leadership of the House Republican Policy Committee, I will spend every day working to meet that expectation.”

State Rep. Ken Paxton decisively won his race for District 70 after receiving 86 percent of the vote, while Libertarian candidate Robert R. Virasin got 14 percent.

Incumbent District 65 State Rep. Burt Solomons was successful in his campaign with 80 percent of the vote, with Libertarian challenger Lee Hooper receiving 20 percent of the vote.

On the county level, incumbent Collin County commissioner for Precinct 3 Joe Jaynes got 70 percent of the vote, with Democratic challenger Victor Manuel receiving 30 percent.

Matt Shaheen ran unopposed for Collin County Commissioner Precinct 1, and will win that position.

In Denton County, Precinct 1 commissioner candidate Hugh Coleman earned 65 percent of the vote. Democratic opponent Phyllis Wolper had 35 percent.

Denton County voters also approved two bond propositions. The first proposition, which passed with 68 percent of the vote, issues $310 million general obligation bonds for road and bridge improvements. The second proposition passed narrowly with 52 percent in favor, and it will provide $185 million in bonds to construct and improve county buildings.

With election results not even a day old, Dodd said that Collin County Democrats are already planning for the next election cycle. They met for five hours Wednesday to prepare for the next round of campaigning.

“We’re going to be happier in the coming years because we’re going to work harder and harder to identify Democrats and get them out to vote,” Dodd said.

Staff writers Heather M. Smith and Brian Bearden contributed to this report.

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