HOUSTON, Texas — State Representative Charles Perry sailed to a near landslide victory in a six-way race in the special election for State Senate District 28. Senator-Elect Perry defeated his closest rival Jodey Arrington by a margin of 53 percent to 30 percent with the remaining votes spread thin between the other four candidates in the race. His election to the Texas Senate is seen by many as yet another victory for the Tea Party and grassroots movement across Texas.
“I am honored that the citizens of Senate District 28 have selected me to fill Chancellor Robert Duncan‘s vacated senate seat,” Perry said in a statement obtained by Breitbart Texas. “Throughout this campaign, I made an effort to visit as many constituents as possible from all 51 counties in the district. I look forward to providing common sense, conservative leadership to the entire district – communities large and small.”
The special election was called to replace State Senator Robert Duncan (R-Lubbock) who resigned earlier this year to become Chancellor of Texas Tech University. Perry has represented the State House District that includes Lubbock and several surrounding counties since he was first elected in 2010.
“I would like to thank Governor Rick Perry for going ahead and calling this election early and allowing West Texas to gain much needed seniority and get back to work,” the Senator-Elect added. Perry will be sworn in sometime over the next couple of weeks giving his district seniority over other freshmen senators who will be elected in November and sworn in on the first day of the next legislative session.
As an incumbent who also seems to be the Tea Party favorite in this race, Perry was able to raise well over $300,000 for his campaign last month.
Arrington was also second in the race for fund raising, raking in a little over $250,000 during that same period. He served under former President George W. Bush as a staffer. He was also very well known in the region having served as vice-chancellor of Texas Tech.
Perry’s Democrat rival in this race, former Sweetwater Mayor Greg Wortham finished the race a distant third in poll numbers by registering only around 12 percent of the vote. His campaign raised about $33,000 in campaign contributions.
The contribution numbers are based on a report by John Reynolds and Bobby Blanchard with the Texas Tribune.
“I wasn’t surprised that Charles Perry was able to win without a runoff election,” said KFYO Radio Talk Show Host Chad Hasty in an interview with Breitbart Texas. “Perry showed his strength in the recent HD-83 Republican Primary where he again dominated his opponent. Perry’s opponents never seemed to have had a message to convince people to vote against Perry.”
Perry’s election to the Texas Senate continues the rise in influence of the Tea Party movement in Texas and moves the Senate one more notch to the right. “Charles Perry had a proven conservative record in the House and voters knew that,” Hasty continued. “I fully expect Perry to continue to be a leading conservative voice in the Senate. I have personally spoken to many conservatives who were appreciative of what Senator Robert Duncan did but were ready for a stronger conservative voice.”
Hasty said what did surprise him was the poor showing of the Democrat candidate. “With all the talk of Battleground Texas, West Texas sure isn’t showing any signs of turning blue.”
Bob Price is a staff writer and a member of the original Breitbart Texas team. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX.
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