Brent Hagenbach won the Republican primary runoff for state senate in a conservative North Texas district.
With all precincts counted, unofficial vote totals showed Hagenbook received 56.6 percent of the vote across the 30th Senate District, which comprises 11 counties including parts of Denton and Collin counties, while Jace Yarbrough received 43.3 percent.
“I look forward to spending the remainder of the year continuing to travel around the district and preparing to represent our region’s interests in the Texas Senate,” Hagenbook said in a statement. “Voters have made it clear that border security, education choice, property taxes and economic growth are their top priorities, and these will be my focus.”
In his victory speech, Hagenbuch acknowledged the support of Trump and some of Texas’ most influential Republicans, including Governor Greg Abbott and Lt. Governor Dan Patrick.
“Thanks to the support of President Trump, Governor Abbott and Lt. Governor Patrick, many doors have opened for our campaign and I’ve been thrilled to walk through each one,” Hagenbuch said. “But along with my campaign team, we’ve knocked on tens of thousands more doors, introduced ourselves and earned the support of even more people.”
In the general election in November, Hagenbook will have a clear advantage over the winner of the Democratic runoff, Dale Frye, who defeated Michael Braxton with 57.1% of the vote, according to unofficial results. In 2020, voters in this district supported Donald Trump by 24 percentage points more than Joe Biden.
Yarbrough issued a statement on social media acknowledging the election results.
“Whatever God has planned for the future for me and my family, I will continue to fight for the conservative values that our state holds dear,” Yarbrough said. “I have no regrets about my campaign; rather, I am grateful for the opportunity to stand up for the values I believe in.”
Hagenbook and Yarbrough were the top two vote-getters in the Republican primary in March. In the four-candidate race, Hagenbook won 36.4% of the vote, about 2,400 votes ahead of Yarbrough to Yarbrough’s 33.9%.
As Tuesday’s election approached, the two were locked in a heated race to replace Sen. Drew Spring (R-Munster), who is not seeking reelection.
Yarbrough, a 37-year-old lawyer who has repeatedly sued the government to advance conservative causes, accused Hagenbook of living outside the district. Yarbrough and another primary opponent sued Hagenbook over the controversy. The case has yet to be resolved.
Hagenbook, 64, a former chairman of the Denton County Republican Party who runs a multistate trucking business, said Yarbrough aspires to a career in politics.
Hagenbook has spent more than $3 million on his campaign, according to reports filed with the Texas Ethics Commission. His campaign received a last-minute $425,000 donation from the conservative group Texas Litigation Reformers. The campaigns of Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick also donated about $30,000 to Hagenbook in the final week of the campaign.
According to the Texas Ethics Commission, Hagenbook has loaned $1.8 million to the campaign.
Yarbrough’s campaign spent about $700,000 on the election. Yarbrough also loaned the campaign $200,000.
A Houston-area Senate seat was also up for grabs Tuesday, pitting Democratic state Rep. Jarvis Johnson against state Sen. Molly Cook, a critical care nurse.
They are competing for the seat vacated by John Whitmire, who resigned from the Senate after being elected mayor of Houston in December. Cook won a special election earlier this month to finish out Whitmire’s term.
Cook narrowly defeated Johnson with 50.2% of the vote, based on results from all polling stations, and will face Republican Joseph Trahan in November’s election.
