MCKINNEY, Texas — Keresa Richardson is the projected winner of the GOP primary runoff election against state Rep. Frederick Frazier in District 61.
The runoff was determined after the March 5 election, when neither Frazier nor Richardson managed to earn 50% of the vote. Richardson led the election with 40% of the vote. Frazier trailed her at 32%.
Frazier won his first election two years ago but has dealt with legal troubles during his first term. He pleaded no contest to misdemeanor charges of attempting to impersonate a public servant after he was accused of posing as a code enforcement officer and stealing his political opponent's campaign signs in 2022. He also pleaded guilty to one charge of criminal mischief.
In April, Frazier’s charges of impersonating a public servant were dismissed as part of the deferred adjudication he received from his sentence. He was also discharged early from his probation for good behavior.
Because Frazier's no contest and not guilty pleas came a day after he filed to retire from the Dallas Police Department, and he filed for his retirement while under investigation by DPD for his criminal charges, Frazier was released from the department with a dishonorable discharge -- standard procedure for such cases at DPD. With his criminal case now dismissed, his discharge has been re-designated to a general discharge.
In a tweet posted on X late last month, Frazier celebrated his charge's dismissal, and compared his plight to that of former President Donald Trump.
"[M]y case has given me a profound appreciation of how blind bitterness leads people to push politically motivated issues as far as they can if they think it will give them a political advantage," Frazier wrote in that. "It gave me a small taste of what President Trump faces now."
Richardson is the CEO of the Lawton Group, a business management consulting firm. On her campaign website, she described herself as being pro-life “from conception to natural death,” wanting to amend the Texas constitution to require proof of citizenship when registering to vote, and to adopt a rule that would end the practice of giving committee chairmanships to Democrats in the Republican-controlled Texas legislature.
She has received endorsements from numerous politicians, including former Sen. Rick Santorum and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
The winner of this runoff will square off against a Democratic challenger during the Nov. 5 General Election.
