Joan Huffman, newly elected to the state Senate District 17 seat, was sworn in early Monday afternoon.
A statement from her office said Huffman, R-Southside Place, received the oath of office on the Texas Senate floor, administered by Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott.
“State law allows Huffman to take the oath of office as soon as practical after the vote is officially canvassed,” the statement from her office said. “Gov. Rick Perry certified the vote Sunday, Dec. 28.”
“The families of SD17 expect hard work and results, which is why I am taking the oath of office as soon as possible,” Huffman said. “We will be prepared to work before the Legislature convenes.
“I’m very thankful to everyone who helped make this day possible. My pledge is to be a representative for all SD17 families,” she added. “Chief among our priorities will be helping families and businesses recover from Hurricane Ike and developing new tools for state and local law enforcement officials to secure the Texas/Mexico border.”
Huffman won a run-off election earlier this month – beating Democrat Chris Bell by just over 5,000 votes.
Bell took more votes in the Nov. 4 general election than any of the six candidates running to fill resigned Sen. Kyle Janek’s seat. But because he didn’t win more than 50 percent of the total votes, he was forced into a run-off race with Huffman.
SD-17 includes portions of Fort Bend, Harris, Brazoria and Galveston counties. In Fort Bend County, Huffman took 64.2 percent of the vote – 7,076 votes – compared with 3,945 votes or 35.8 percent for Bell.
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