The Brazos County judge's race slimmed down after Tuesday's primary with Commissioner Duane Peters now facing Bryan Mayor Mark Conlee in an April 13 runoff.
Whichever Republican wins the campaign six weeks away will face Independent candidate Doug O'Brien in the November general election.
Overall, Brazos County saw an 11 percent turnout with 19,294 ballots cast.
Peters received 46 percent of the 15,254 votes filed in Republican boxes; Bryan Mayor Mark Conlee received 31 percent.
They were the top vote-getters in the four-person GOP race; no Democrat ran.
The other candidates were Brian Alg, a 25-year-old economic consultant from College Station, and former Bryan Mayor Ernie Wentrcek. Alg, an unknown who was less than half the age of the three others, received 5 percent. Wentrcek won 18 percent.
The pair headed for the runoff said each said they're going to run an aggressive campaign.
"Budget issues are going to be the big challenge," Peters said, as he was surrounded by supporters Tuesday night at the Brazos Center. "If you look nationally, we've been spending money that we don't have. I'm afraid that's going to translate here locally."
Peters has been a Bryan firefighter, constable and rancher. He said he believed the key factor to his strong showing was his seven years on the Brazos County Commissioners Court.
"I really think it's the experience," he said.
Conlee ran on his 30 years of business management, which he said gave him experience in hiring and crafting budgets.
"I would bring a fresh approach," Conlee said. "When you've been in the county system so long, you tend to do the same things. Sometimes you need a different approach. A fresh set of eyes are helpful."
Conlee said he could overcome the difference, given that focusing on a single opponent changes the dynamics of the race.
"We're going to regroup, work hard, and go to work again, and I think we can pull it out," the mayor said.
The county judge is the top administrator of the roughly 175,000-resident county. The four-year term pays $87,655 a year. Current County Judge Randy Sims didn't run.
Peters had just above 50 percent of the vote in early returns released about 7:30 p.m., a hair above what was needed to avoid a runoff. For part of the night, he was hoping to wrap up the nomination.
Peters is outgoing-County Judge Randy Sims' pick to replace him. Sims steps down at the turn of the year after serving eight years. He said he's most proud of fiscal management of the county.
All Republican candidates listed fiscal stability as a priority.
Alg railed against the Brazos County Expo, saying it wasn't wise use of taxpayer money. He opposed tax increment financing to lure businesses.
Wentrcek touted his time as a Bryan councilman and 24 years as director of juvenile court services in Brazos County.
Conlee, who served on the Bryan City Council before he became mayor in 2007, earned a bachelor's in business finance from Sam Houston State University in 1975.
Peters, who was a Brazos County constable from 1993 to 2002, has a bachelor's in finance from Texas A&M, received in 1971.
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