Early voting for the runoff special election for Texas Senate District 30 began Wednesday at the Erath County Courthouse.
Voters are deciding between Drew Springer and Shelly Luther for the vacated seat of Pat Fallon, who was recently elected in a bid for a U.S. Representative seat. Neither candidate drew a decisive lead in the special election, falling within a percentage point of each other.
Springer is a Parker County native who resides in Cooke County. Springer announced his candidacy minutes after Abbott’s announcement of the election in a release which included an endorsement from Fallon. Senator Fallon said, “Drew Springer will make an excellent addition to the Texas Senate. He has been a champion for the people of House District 68, and he will continue to fight for conservative principles for the great citizens of Senate District 30.”
Shelly Luther, the Dallas salon owner who was jailed over reopening her business when state orders were to keep salons closed, announced that she would also be vying for the seat vacated by Fallon during a ‘Back the blue’ rally in Denton County. At the rally, Luther said she was someone who would “stand up and go to jail for you,” saying she would “do it again and again because I’m gonna fight to keep our Texas values.” Luther became a hero to some on the right earlier this year after she was jailed for contempt of court for refusing to apologize for illegally reopening her salon. She was freed two days later after Gov. Greg Abbott removed the threat of jail time from an executive order and the Texas Supreme Court granted a motion for her release.
Early voting will be held at the courthouse from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. today and tomorrow.
Election day polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Dec. 19 at the following locations: Erath County Courthouse, Dublin County Annex (219 S. Grafton), Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Center (1229 N. Highway 281, Stephenville) and Texas Bank (988 Wolfe Nursery Rd.).