BEAUMONT, Texas — Here in Southeast Texas, voters will have to decide between Joseph Trahan and Christian "Manual" Hayes in the Democratic runoff for State Rep District 22.
Whoever wins the runoff will face off against Jacorian Randle this November.
The Democratic race for State Representative District 22 is headed to a runoff.
RELATED: Democratic candidates to compete in runoff for Texas State Rep. District 22 after primary results
I spoke with both candidates on how they're hoping to invigorate voters to head out to the polls again.
Joseph Trahan and Christian Manual Hayes are vying to fill the seat of retiring representative Joe Deshotel, D-Beaumont.
“I want to be that person that can make a difference in our community,” Trahan said. “And I think that I have all of the abilities within me to move forward and really bring us into a new chapter here in Southeast Texas.”
“I am a Jefferson County and through and through,” Hayes said. “This is a county that has given me a livelihood. This is the county that allowed me to be a chief of staff and I owe this to everyone else to make sure that they're getting the representation that they deserve.”
Once polling locations closed and ballots were tallied Trahan held the lead most of the night but it wasn't enough to move on to the general election.
Trahan received 48% of the votes. Hayes followed closely behind with 43%.
Trahan and Hayes said they're hitting the ground running preparing for the May runoffs.
“Trying to figure out where I can capitalize on where I need to focus and do what I've always done, meet people where they are engaged with voters, talk about a vision, talk about the importance of moving forward with the State Representative seat,” Trahan said.
“Making sure that I'm meeting more people than I met before and ensuring that people that I've already met that I'm still day one ready and I'm excited about this race and making sure that I'm reaching across to all of the people who voted for different candidates,” Hayes said.
The runoff decides who will face republican Jacorion Randle in November.
Randle ran against Deshotel in 2020.
Right now, Randle said he's feeling more optimistic than ever.
“I have more votes than I did last time, so more folks came out than they did 2020 during the primary. So, I'm very confident about November and I'm very encouraged about it as well,” Randle said.
Deshotel, who had held the seat for the past 20 years, is retiring after this term.
The run-off election is May 24.
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