If State Sen. Bob Deuell and his supporters are wondering how challenger Bob Hall managed to force a runoff election, they need look no further than the southern counties in District 2.
Deuell needed to get better than 50 percent of the vote in order to win the nomination in the March 4 Republican primary. Deuell finished first among the three candidates, but his 48.5 percent of the vote fell just short of the majority of votes cast. Hall totaled 38.8 percent, while Mark Thompson placed third with 12.7 percent.
The district includes the following counties: Delta, Fannin, Hopkins, Hunt, Kaufman, Rains, Rockwall and Van Zandt. District 2 also includes parts of eastern Dallas County.
Deuell fell short of the 50 percent threshold in three of those counties - the three southernmost counties in the district. Hall, whose campaign is based in Canton, won Van Zandt County with 55.1 percent of the vote to Deuell's 33.9 percent.
In nearby Kaufman County, the two finished nearly even, with Deuell taking 43.3 percent of the vote and Hall totaling 43.3 percent.
Dallas County was the other county wherein Deuell failed to capture a majority. Third-place candidate Mark Thompson of Garland finished comparatively strong in Dallas County, with 16 percent of the vote, while Deuell totaled 46.1 percent to Hall's 37.9 percent.
Deuell was successful in breaking the 50-percent threshold in Delta (50.7), Fannin (53.1), Hopkins (57.1), Hunt (61.2), Rains (51.9) and Rockwall (50.3) counties.
