Wheeler County News

It's a crowded primary on the Republican side of the ticket with one Democrat waiting to find out who he will challenge in November.

For the four Republican candidates running for the open seat in Texas House District 68, campaigning in the 22-county district is a major hurdle because it covers more than 300 miles from east to west - including eight counties in the South Plains - and almost the same distance from north to south.

The energy business is booming in the eastern Texas Panhandle, and the impact is hard to miss, from constant convoys of oil and gas trucks rumbling through Canadian to apartment buildings going up in Wheeler.

The Texas House primary that impacts most of the central and eastern Texas Panhandle is in District 88, but Republican voters in 14 other regional counties also will vote in an equally important election in neighboring District 68.

Former state Rep. Joe Heflin's name won't be on the ballot this year, the first time in six years.