State Rep. Lance Gooden bests rival in primary election

by David Webb

David Webb is a veteran journalist who has written for the mainstream and alternative media for three decades. He is now a freelancer who lives in the Cedar Creek Lake area. He is the editor of cedarcreeklake.com. E-mail story ideas to davidwaynewebb@yahoo.com.

Cedar Creek Lake area mailboxes overflowed in the weeks leading up to the 2012 Republican Primary Election with contentious campaign materials from candidates in the race for the District 4 State Representative seat.

A last minute flurry of mailings from incumbent Rep. Lance Gooden, of Terrell, apparently paid off. In the final count, Gooden, with 6,385 votes, topped challenger Dr. Stuart Spitzer of Kaufman, who had 5,545 votes, according to the Secretary of State's Election Night Returns report. Gooden had 53.52 percent of the vote, and Spitzer took 46.47 percent.

It will be Gooden's second term in office.

In the District 3 State Senate race, incumbent Sen. Robert Nichols easily held on to the seat with 57,337 votes, compared to challenger Tammy Blair's 19,486 votes. Nichols had 74.63 percent of the vote, compared to Blair's 25.36 percent.

There are no Democratic Party challengers in the November general election for the two seats, which represent Cedar Creek Lake area residents.

Pictured below is Rep. Lance Gooden.

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