Primary Results: Runoff for Ag Commisioner Gets Kinky

Photo by Mike Lee/KUT

"There's nothing in this world more serious than a comedian when he's telling the truth," Kinky Friedman says.

It’s possible that come November, voters will get to choose between a pro-weed Jewish troubadour and a horse scandal-plagued businessman with Ted Nugent as his treasurer in the race for Agriculture Commissioner. Both primaries for Agriculture Commissioner are headed for a runoff on May 27.

On the Democratic side, poll watchers were surprised to see Jim Hogan, a cattle rancher from Cleburne who raised zero dollars for the race and spent few more, in the lead with 39 percent (with 84 percent of precincts reporting). That’s despite having little to no profile in the race. (Many of the state’s Democratic heavyweights endorsed Hugh Fitzsimmons, who is placing a distant third.)

Hogan will likely face Richard “Kinky” Friedman, who’s running on a platform of hemp and pot legalization, and who state Democrats had actively tried to stop from winning. Friedman wasn’t far behind Hogan, getting 38 percent of the vote (with 84 percent of precincts reporting). We talked to Friedman about his plans to turn Texas “green” in February:

On the Republican side, Sid Miller is currently in the lead for Agriculture Commissioner, but will likely head into a runoff with Tommy Merritt. Miller is the one politician who didn’t distance himself from Ted Nugent after his controversial remarks about President Obama. Nugent is Miller’s campaign treasurer.

Miller has faced complaints and warnings for exercising his quarter horses by tying them to the back of a trailer and driving them around, as David Barer of the Dallas Morning News reported in December.

If Miller and Friedman end up in a head-to-head battle after the runoff in May, expect to see a more entertaining race than you’re used to.