All 222 precincts have reported in the State Senate District 17 race, and the unofficial results have Democrat Chris Bell and Republican Joan Huffman headed for a runoff. Bell garnered 38.4 percent of the vote, Huffman 26.13.
Democrat Stephanie Simmons trails Huffman with 13.8 percent, followed by Republican Austen Furse with 10.11 percent, Republican Ken Sherman with 7.48 percent and Republican Grant Harpold with 4.05 percent.
Earlier in the campaign, Bell fought to have Simmons, the only other Democrat on the ballot, removed due to residency issues. His campaign claimed that Simmons was put on the ballot by Republicans in an attempt to prevent Bell from receiving a majority of the votes, eliminating the need for a runoff.
“Their only hope of winning this race is to force a runoff, they (Republicans) can’t beat Chris Bell in November,” said Bell campaign spokesman Jason Stanford earlier in the campaign. “They’ve got to force a runoff and this is a desperate attempt to play politics…”
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