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Republicans Pick Local Attorney Michael Lovins As Nominee For Travis County Judge

Courtesy of Travis County GOP
Michael Lovins pictured with his family in a photo provided by the Travis County GOP.

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Republicans in Travis County will try to win one of the most powerful positions in local government this fall: county judge. The party announced Monday that local attorney Michael Lovins will run under the GOP banner. 

In the last election in 2018, Republicans did not even field a candidate against the incumbent, Democrat Sarah Eckhardt. But she left that job to run for a seat in the Texas Senate left vacant by Kirk Watson's retirement. Eckhardt won in a special election last month.

So now, the county judge post is up for grabs in November.

RELATED | Local Attorney Andy Brown Will Be Democratic Nominee For Travis County Judge

Travis County Democratic Party precinct chairs elected their candidate Sunday night: local attorney and activist Andy Brown. 

Hours before the filing deadline Monday, the Travis County Republican Party Chair Matt Mackowiak appointed the GOP candidate for county judge. 

Lovins is a personal injury trial lawyer. He says his first priority as county judge would be to boost funding for the county sheriff’s office and to expand law enforcement patrols within the City of Austin.

"As Travis County Judge, my focus will be on local solutions for the challenges our community faces," Lovins said in a statement, "not national liberal agendas driven by progressive special interests."

The last time Republicans competed for the county judge post was in 2014. That year, Eckhardt won 62% of the vote. GOP challenger Mike McNamara scored 33%, and Libertarian Richard Perkins had 5%.

Got a tip? Email Nathan Bernier at nbernier@kut.org. Follow him on Twitter @KUTnathan.

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Nathan Bernier is the transportation reporter at KUT. He covers the big projects that are reshaping how we get around Austin, like the I-35 overhaul, the airport's rapid growth and the multibillion dollar transit expansion Project Connect. He also focuses on the daily changes that affect how we walk, bike and drive around the city. Got a tip? Email him at nbernier@kut.org. Follow him on Twitter @KUTnathan.
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