Texas Senate runoff:

State Senate candidate Jace Yarbrough met with voters on May 8 at the home of Olney Mayor Rue Rogers, taking questions about local issues such as teacher pay, mental health services and the City’s infrastructure and giving his take on statewide issues such as school vouchers, the Texas- Mexico border and rifts in the Republican Party.

Mr. Yarbrough, a Republican, faces Brent Hagenbuch in a runoff for the Republican Party nomination for state Senate District 30, a seat that Drew Springer will vacate in January 2025 after one term.

Mr. Yarbrough characterized his race against Mr. Hagenbuch, who won endorsements from Gov. Greg Abbott and Sen. Springer as a “David and Jonathan race” - referring to the son of the Biblical King Saul - rather than “David and Goliath.”

Mr. Yarbrough pointed out that he was “outspent 3-½ to one .. .but came within twoplus points” of beating his opponent. “I want my children to see me doing difficult things for the Lord,” Mr. Yarbrough told attendees.

He characterized the explosive rise in illegal border crossings as “the most important issue by an order of magnitude” followed by education, water accessibility, and rising property taxes.

Mr. Yarbrough was asked how he would work with establishment Republicans who have endorsed his opponent, should he win the general elec- “I’m not here to blow up relationships and throw bombs. That’s not who I am,” he said, adding that “I have people supporting me on either side of the [State Attorney General Ken] Paxton divide.”

Mr. Yarbrough said he supports Gov. Abbott’s school voucher plan. “Some ISDs pose a physical threat to children … we have got to figure out when some ISDs are pushing radical ideologies,” he said. “We have got to give people in those dire circumstances a way out.”

When asked whether he would support a plan to allow school district say whether they want to participate in school choice, Mr. Yarbrough remarked that “the left is aggressive and they are clandestine … these issues run deep.”

He also took questions on teacher pay, accountability for homeschoolers, and strategies for giving Olney and other rural communities access to funding for infrastructure repairs.

Early voting in the state Senate race runs May 20-24 at the Olney Community Library and Arts Center.