MIDLAND COUNTY, Texas — With early voting just underway in the Permian Basin, the Midland County Republican Party held a forum on Tuesday night.
Several contested races have multiple Republican candidates running against each other, and this forum brought them all together.
Conversations covered a number of topics as candidates made their case. Those candidates consisted of races for district attorney, sheriff and county commissioner, with this election carrying plenty of impact on the future of Midland County.
Every vote on the March election ballot could be the difference.
“It is important, it’s absolutely important," said James Beauchamp, chairman of the Midland County Republican Party. "We’ve had a lot of races in Midland County over the last several years that have been decided, literally, by a handful of votes.”
Two weeks from election night, candidates in several races shared their vision.
“That county commissioners race sets the budget for the county, sets the direction for the county, so again it’s an important race," Beauchamp said. "You have a sheriff’s race which is really important from a law enforcement perspective out here. And then, finally, a DA’s race, which is another important component of that public safety side of things is the prosecution of those crimes.”
Beauchamp and the Midland County Republican Party brought in a diverse panel to ask questions during the forum.
“Representatives of our Hispanic community who are involved in the Republican Party, women and also young Republicans, and so I think we’re going to get a diversity of questions and that’s part of what we were going for is looking towards the future and those groups and what they wanted to ask about," Beauchamp said.
An eye on the future that could be shaped by this election.
“If you’re concerned about crime and you’re concerned about safety and all those sorts of things, all these things impact it," Beauchamp said. "If you’re interested in infrastructure, the county commissioners race has a huge impact on that. So, who we choose and who we vote for in these races can have a big impact on the direction and really the face of our county for some time to come.”
Beauchamp mentioned that they only saw 508 people participate in the start of early voting on Tuesday, which continues a low voter turnout trend that he says must be better for this election with a community of 180,000 in Midland County.
Also to note from Tuesday, Beauchamp added that while Michael Pool is on the ballot for constable in Precinct 2, Pool has now decided to endorse his competitor Scott Casbeer in that race.