Buckner wins court at law by 84 votes

The Parker County elections administration office officially reported Jerry Buckner won the race for county court at law by 84 votes Tuesday.

Final numbers indicated Buckner received 3,056 total votes in the primary election defeating incumbent Judge Debra Dupont.

Buckner will not face an opponent in the general election since no Democrat filed to run for the position.

With a 0.7 percent margin of victory, some election workers expected to hear calls for a recount. No calls for a recount surfaced by press time and attempts to contact Dupont were unsuccessful.

“These electronic voting machines are not likely to have any chads,” Buckner said.

Buckner, a local defense attorney, was emotional as he thanked volunteers during a Republican Party-sponsored event at Tin Melon restaurant.

“In trials you have family members, maybe a dozen people or so,” he said. “This is so much different with a crowd like this — everyone was so thrilled — every one of the people in the crowd helped me get here in one way or another.”

Buckner maintained he felt it was his civic duty to run for the position.

“I did this because it felt like it needed to be done,” he said. “This is not going to be a stepping stone or a pay raise for me.”

Buckner became emotional when asked about Dupont.

“On the day I decided to run, I went to her office and said, ‘we’ve been friends, you’re still my friend, and I’m going to run against you.’”

The county court at law race featured character accusations from both candidates.

Buckner said he knows how Dupont feels because he has lost cases before.

“I’m sorry for the hurt it caused and I’m sorry for the hurt she feels,” he said.

Buckner will share space at the courthouse with County Court at Law Judge No. 2 Ben Akers.

Due to the contentious nature of the race, county officials present at the Tin Melon remained tight-lipped concerning the outcome.