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Tommy Williams had served for ten years in District 4 when he stepped-down last October.
Now, four Republican candidates hope to replace him.
State Representative Steve Toth, former State Senator Michael Galloway, State Representative Brandon Creighton and local businessman Gordy Bunch are all on the ballot.
University of Houston political scientist Dr. Richard Murray says Toth is backed by the local Tea Party, which usually means good things when not many voters show up on election day.
“We might get 25,000 people voting,” said Murray. “They are a very select group of individuals that show up and based on the experience of the last three or four years, the Tea Party identifiers tend to take the time and trouble to get informed and go to the polls.”
The special election has been overshadowed by the primary run-offs later this month. Another issue for voters is simply not knowing which district they live in.
“These district lines shift around, and we’ve got a half dozen senators here in the Houston area,” said Murray. “Here you have an incumbent senator in Mr. Williams retiring, and we have to have a special election, but many voters really don’t know they even live in the district.”
Senate District 4 includes parts of Montgomery, Harris, Chambers, Liberty, Orange and Jefferson counties. A June run-off is likely after the results of Saturday’s special election.
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