Vermillion Wins Primary

With all 12 precincts reporting, Washita County District Court Clerk Lynda Vermillion has defeated Republican primary challenger Cindy McGuire. Vermillion, who picked up 718 votes to Mc-Guire’s 554, will move on to face Democratic challenger Kim Batt in the November general election.

In other county elections, Patrick Michael Hayes has defeated Lance Shenold, 35-27 for election to the Office No. 5 for Caddo-Kiowa Tech Center. Christi Harrison was elected to Office No. 5 for Carnegie Public Schools, beating Misty Boettger by a margin of 15-6. Billy Hanes narrowly defeated Larry Peck in the race for Sentinel’s No. 5 school board seat, 178-171, and Dill City voters passed Proposition 1 by a vote of 67-13. In the statewide pri

In the statewide primary elections, Washita County Republicans overwhelmingly chose Sen. James Inhofe to represent them in the general election. Inhofe secured 959 votes, compared to 214 for J.J. Stitt, 73 for John Tompkins, and 51 for Neil Mavis. With 70 percent of precincts reporting statewide as of press time, Inhofe held a commanding 72.9 percent of the vote.

Democrat Abby Broyles held a solid lead on the statewide Democratic count, holding 61.13 percent of the vote with 70 percent reporting. In Washita County, the Democratic race was slightly tighter, with Broyles winning with 45.49 percent of the vote. R.D. Joe Cassity, Jr. secured 21.72 percent of Washita County Democrats, Elysabeth Britt claimed 21.58 percent, and Sheila Bilyeu closed out with 11.2 percent.

State Question 802, permanently expanding Medicaid in the state, failed in Washita County with 768 votes for and 1,386 votes against. With 74.33 percent of precincts reporting as of press time, the proposal was slightly ahead, with 249,107 votes in favor (51.54 percent) and 234,193 votes (48.46 percent) against.

The results will be certified later this week by election officials.