Three New Sheriffs, One Incumbent Elected Tuesday

Three North Texas counties elected new sheriffs Tuesday, and a fourth elected an incumbent to a fourth term.

DALLAS COUNTY

In Dallas County, Sheriff Lupe Valdez won reelection for a fourth time.

Valdez, 69, has been the sheriff of Dallas County since 2004 and was facing three challengers: Krik Launius (R), David Geoffrey Morris (L) and J.C. Osborne (G).

Valdez lept out to an early lead in early voting, and with 92 percent of precincts reporting, has a healthy lead over Republican challenger Launius.

TARRANT COUNTY

In Tarrant County, Bill Waybourn, former Dalworthington Gardens chief of police, beat longtime Tarrant County Sheriff Dee Anderson in the March primary runoff.

Waybourn captured 17,684 votes to Anderson's 14,521 votes in the primary, preventing him from seeking a fifth term.

In the general, Waybourn beat challenger Max W. Koch III (L) after securing 81 percent of the vote.

COLLIN COUNTY

In Collin County, Sheriff Terry Box is retiring after 30 years to spend more time with his wife of 47 years and his '55 Chevy.  Fighting for Box's spot were candidates Jim Skinner (R) and Daniel St. Clair (L).

Early voting gave Skinner an early lead and he eventually won with 81 percent of the vote.

According to his webpage, Skinner has spent the "past 35 years, I have served in our judicial system as a full-time uniformed police officer, a US Air Force Security Police dog handler and EST Team (SWAT) operator, a narcotics agent, a drug task force coordinator, a detective, the Chief Investigator for New Mexico’s Ninth Judicial District Attorney’s Office, an assistant district attorney in Collin County, a special prosecutor, a lawyer and now, a reserve deputy sheriff for the Dallas Sheriff’s Department."

Information on Daniel St. Clair was not readily available online.

DENTON COUNTY

In Denton County, Sheriff William Travis lost the March primary to challenger Tracy Murphree (R).

Murphree, a former Texas Ranger, is projected to defeat Libertarian challenger Randy Butler in the Nov. 8 general election after jumping out to a sizeable lead from early voting.

With 78 percent of the precincts reporting at midnight Wednesday, Murphree has 80 percent of the vote.

On Facebook, Murphree issued a statement declaring victory and thanking his supporters.