Few voters wanted him as president, but overwhelming numbers of Republican primary voters chose to keep U.S. Rep. Ron Paul in congress.
Despite an effort by Friendswood councilman Chris Peden to unseat the long-term congressman, Paul appeared to seal the Republican nomination for the District 14 seat by a 2-1 margin.
With no Democratic candidate filed for the District 14 spot, Paul will remain as the district’s representative.
Paul, who has served in congress on and off for more than 30 years, had a 40 percentage point lead when 94 percent of precincts had reported results.
“My message of limited government and upholding the constitution has once again been endorsed by the conservative-minded voters in my district,” Paul said in a written statement.
“They understand and support the battle I have waged for 30 years to make the federal government smaller, to reduce wasteful government spending, to balance the budget, and to promote a foreign policy that always puts America first.”
Peden, a certified public accountant who has served on Friendswood city council since 2005, criticized Paul during his campaign as an irrelevant voice in congress who didn’t adequately represent interests of constituents.
Phone messages left on Peden’s cell phone, at his campaign office and with his campaign manager were not returned.
Mark Elam, a spokesman for Paul’s congressional campaign, said Tuesday’s results were proof that voters still believed in the congressman’s message.
“It is an overwhelming win,” he said. “This is vindication for us of the things Paul stands for and has been working for in congress. It clearly shows that any prediction that this was going to go the other way is clearly not the case.”
The results support a poll released last week by Public Policy Polling of Raleigh, N.C., which gave Paul a 63 percent to 30 percent lead over Peden.
In Galveston County, returns that included more all but two precincts showed Paul with a 66 percent lead to Peden’s 34 percent of votes.
Those results were similar to results across the 10 counties the district covers.
Paul’s lead was strongest in Calhoun, Chambers, Jackson and Matagorda counties, where Peden received less than 25 percent of the vote. Peden’s showing was strongest in Fort Bend County, where 36 percent of voters supported him.
The strong lead in the congressional race didn’t give Paul an edge in his bid for the Republican nomination for president, where early returns showed him with slightly less than 5 percent.
Elam said he didn’t know if Paul would be bowing out of the presidential race. With his victories in Tuesday’s primaries, U.S. Sen. John McCain of Arizona has enough delegates to seal the Republican nomination.
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Results
Ron Paul — 70.29%
W. Chris Peden — 29.70%
* Statewide with 99 percent of precincts reporting.
