HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Pat Lykos has lost her position as Harris County district attorney. The incumbent fell to her opponent, retired judge Mike Anderson, in the GOP primary.
Late Tuesday night, Lykos conceded to Anderson after he garnered 63 percent of the vote, with 99 percent of the precincts reporting.
Lykos had started off Tuesday seemingly confident about her chances for winning, telling us, "My challenger has run a very negative campaign against me and so we're going to find out tonight whether people want you to run a positive campaign -- as I have -- or what he's done."
But after the polls closed and more votes kept going to Anderson, she became more realistic and told Eyewitness News that she did not run a good campaign, saying she spent too much time working as a district attorney and not enough time on the campaign trail fighting against her opponents.
"All the things that we've accomplished, I reckon I should've bragged about it. I should've started my campaign earlier to get the word out to the people but there was so much to get done, and so I focused on the office," Lykos said. "Regardless of what the final outcome is, I'm going to continue as district attorney until December 31 and we're going to do great things."
Meanwhile, the mood was very upbeat over at Anderson's headquarters at Blanco's in the Galleria. A lot of his supporters were clapping and hugging, feeling optimistic about how the race will turn out.
Anderson called this a grassroots campaign and thanked his supporters.
"I want to thank, from the bottom of my heart, all of you people who are here, all of my friends," Anderson said.
Anderson was a prosecutor for 17 years and has handled cases ranging from misdemeanors to capital murders. He's also been a special crimes prosecutor and worked in the major offenders division. Most recently, he was a state district judge for 12 years.
OTHER HARRIS COUNTY RACES
In another Harris County judicial race, Elaine Palmer has likely defeated incumbent Steven Kirkland for 215th civil court. With 99 percent of the precincts reporting, Palmer garnered 62 percent of the vote.
Palmer had waged a campaign war against Kirkland, with a radio ad and flyer highlighting the incumbent's two drunk driving arrests more than 20 years ago. Kirkland, who's been sober for 27 years, had called the campaign ads offensive and untruthful.
In the race for Harris County Precinct 7 Constable, incumbent May Walker has defeated her four challengers. She had garnered 69 percent of the votes with 99 percent of the precincts reporting.
Controversy arose in this race when Hayes accused one of Walker's employees of harassing him when he tried to place an election sign next to Walker's.
In the crowded GOP race for Harris County sheriff, the race is too close to call. However, with 99 percent of precincts reporting, Louis Guthrie are Harold Hueszel are leading with 31 and 21 percent of the vote, respectively. They will face off again in a July 31 run-off election, and that winner will then face Democratic candidate and incumbent Sheriff Adrian Garcia in November.
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