Tonya Parker on way to making history

Tonya Parker

Out lesbian candidate Tonya Parker appears well on her way to making history tonight. Parker, a Democrat who’s running for the 116 Judicial District seat, would be the first openly LGBT person elected judge in Dallas County. She would also be the first openly LGBT African-American elected official in the county’s history.
Parker led Republican Mike Lee by a margin of 51 percent to 49 percent, or 106,447 votes to 103,039, after early voting. Her advantage was larger than most other Democrats in Dallas County.
Another openly gay candidate, Pete Schulte, was way behind in the race for the District 108 state House seat. Republican incumbent Dan Branch led Schulte by a margin of 67 percent to 31 percent, or 9,686 votes to 4,526. Libertarian Jarrett R. Woods had 2 percent, or 266 votes.