Watson wins Democratic runoff for Brazos County Pct. 4 Commissioner by five absentee ballots

BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) - The run-off between Democratic Brazos County Pct. 4 Commissioner candidates Prentiss Madison and Wanda Watson was settled Tuesday after absentee ballot counts became official.

Former party chair Wanda Watson ultimately won the election with a four-vote edge over former Bryan city councilman Prentiss Madison, 562-558, after all votes were counted. Ending Election Day, Madison led the race by a single vote, with 558 votes to Watson’s 557.

Four Democrats initially competed in the tight race for Commissioner of Precinct 4 but none of the candidates emerged with more than 50% +1 of the vote needed to win the primary outright. Watson and Madison collectively held 60% of the vote in the primary election, defeating challengers Roy Flores and Ann Boney.

Watson will now take on Republican Timothy Delasandro in November’s General election.

In the race for Brazos County Commissioner Precinct 2, candidate Chuck Konderla still held a significant advantage over incumbent Russ Ford, earning 52.47% of the vote. Konderla received 2,133 votes while Ford got 1,932 votes. No Democrats ran in the primary race, so the Konderla is poised to take the seat following November’s election.

Ford wasn’t Brazos County’s only incumbent turned down for another term. Democrat Darrell Booker won the race for Justice of the Peace, Pct. 4 with 52% of the vote. He beat out Celina Vasquez, who received 546 votes compared to his 584.

One incumbent did pull through the run-off, though. Gabriel Garcia earned 5,392 votes against Margaret Meece’s 3,938. Garcia will face off against Democratic candidate Searcy Toliver for District Clerk in November.

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