ALTUS – Jackson County Commissioner Rhet Johnson swept to a Republican primary win in his second re-election bid Tuesday night.
Johnson, elected in 2018 to his first full term, received 483 votes (72%) compared to 188 (28%) for GOP opponent Michael Hamersley.
Johnson will face Democrat Alex White in the November general election. White did not face a primary election opponent. Johnson, who represents District 3, was initially elected in 2016 to fill an unexpired term.
“I’m absolutely pleased with how everything turned out,” Johnson said. “The support we got from Jackson County was not surprising. We’ve been doing a lot of good things in Jackson County the past six years with the courthouse expansion, the expo expansion and the roads and bridges.”
“We’ve been vigilant about applying for grants with the city or by ourselves as we look for new funding sources for different projects,” the commissioner said.
Currently, the county is working on phase one of the Altus Economic Loop, which is a multimillion dollar road project that encompasses three miles. In addition, the county is about to spend slightly more than $1 million on a retention pond that will handle water runoff during the flood season.
“We’re going to focus on what we’ve been doing and being proactive with funding and projects,” Johnson said.