By Matt Smith/msmith@trcle.com
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The mystery of whether former state Sen. Kip Averitt intends to run again appears to have been solved.
The Republican from McGregor told the Texas Tribune and Waco Tribune-Herald that he will withdraw his name from the November ballot, presumably allowing Brian Birdwell the opportunity to run for a full four-year term in the Texas Senate from District 22.
Birdwell defeated David Sibley in a runoff election Tuesday to finish out Averitt’s term, which ends in January. Averitt resigned his seat earlier in the year because of health reasons but his name remained on the ballot for the March primary election, which he won after defeating Darren Yancy of Burleson.
As a result, Averitt is the only candidate on the ballot for the November election. He had no Democrat opponent and would have automatically won.
As Birdwell and Sibley slugged it out the past few weeks, speculation ran rampant as to what Averitt planned to do. A scenario existed in which Birdwell could have served until January and Averitt replace him for another full term.
Averitt, however, cleared that all up by saying he planned on withdrawing in the next “day or two.” Averitt said Tuesday night’s results convinced him to step aside.
“My goal in this whole process was for the people to be able to pick their senator, and we’ve had a process in which that’s happened. I have all the confidence in the world in the voters,” Averitt told the Tribune-Herald.
The party chairs from each of District 22’s 10 counties will choose a Republican and a Democratic candidate to stand in the race. It is presumed that that person on the Republican side will be Birdwell, who defeated Sibley decisively, collecting almost 58 percent of the vote.
In thanking supporters Tuesday night, Birdwell said his message of lower taxes and an emphasis on traditional values and less government struck a cord with voters.
“I am honored and humbled to serve the great people of this district, and they have my word that I will strive to represent them with honor and integrity in Austin,” Birdwell said.
Birdwell and Sibley were the top vote-getters among four candidates in the May 8 special election, though neither achieved better than 50 percent of the vote.
The campaign between the two grew contentious with both questioning whether the other met eligibility requirements to run.
Political observers said that issue might not go away for the November campaign should Birdwell be the candidate.
Birdwell received a declaratory judgment in April stating that he met the five-year residency requirement. Legal experts have questioned the reasoning of that ruling.
