McDonald, Mayes headed for runoff in GOP race for Williamson County commissioner

David McDonald earned 46.1% of the vote to easily outdistance his two rivals to be the Republican nominee for the Precinct 2 seat on the Williamson County Commissioners Court, but it wasn't enough to avoid a runoff.

By falling short of the 50% needed to win outright, McDonald will face Jeff Mayes in a runoff election, according to county election results released Wednesday afternoon. Mayes placed second with 29.5% of the vote, while Rupal Chaudhari finished third with 24.4%. McDonald earned 5,819 votes, while Mayes had 3,716 and Chaudhari had 3,080.

McDonald and Mayes will vie to succeed Commissioner Cynthia Long, a fellow Republican who is not seeking re-election after serving five terms. She was first elected in 2007. The winner of the Republican race will run unopposed in the November election because there is no Democratic candidate.

County officials blamed a change in Republican operating procedures for the delay in vote counting. For the first time since 2013, residents were required to vote in their precincts instead of at any location countywide. The change was made at the request of the Republicans. Confusion among many on where to vote resulted in long lines at many polling locations across the county. A district judge ordered two polling locations in Georgetown to stay open until 10 p.m. after voters there faced long lines.

McDonald, a former Leander City Council member, is a retired Austin police officer and a transportation consultant. Mayes is a commercial real estate broker. Chaudhari is an attorney and a business owner.

Precinct 2 includes Cedar Park, Leander and Liberty Hill, along with part of Anderson Mill and part of the city of Austin, and a large unincorporated portion of western Williamson County stretching to the Burnet County line.

Place 4 incumbent Russ Boles ran uncontested for the GOP nomination, while Harmon Rhea was the lone Democrat vying for the seat.

-written by: Claire Osborn

Austin American-Statesman - read article here