Jeff Davis County voters delivered a notable shift in county leadership during the Republican primary, where challenger Buster Mills defeated incumbent County Judge Curtis Evans, while County Treasurer Dawn Kitts narrowly retained her position.
In the race for county judge, Mills received 313 votes, or 51.40%, compared with Evans’ 296 votes, or 48.60%. With no Democrats filing for the race, Mills is currently unopposed in the November general election and is poised to become the county’s next county judge.
The county treasurer contest was even closer. Incumbent Dawn Kitts received 298 votes, or 50.42%, defeating challenger Brittany Escobedo, who received 293 votes, or 49.58%. The five-vote margin secured Kitts another term. No Democratic candidate filed to run for treasurer.
In the race for Jeff Davis County Commissioner Precinct 4, Republican candidate Tommy Vick ran unopposed in the primary and received 92 votes. On the Democratic side, incumbent Albert Miller also ran unopposed, receiving 39 votes. Miller and Vick will face each other in the November general election.
Jeff Davis County, a sparsely populated county in Far West Texas, often sees key county offices decided in the Republican primary due to the lack of Democratic candidates in several races. This year’s results nonetheless featured extremely tight margins and a change in leadership in the county judge’s office.
