RISON - Jim Houston of the Rye community and Rickey Spencer of Kingsland have formally announced their intentions to run in the Republican primary for Cleveland County Judge.With the addition of Houston and Spencer, there are now four Republicans who have announced their intentions to file for the county judge's race. The other two candidates who have announced their intentions are Steven McClellan of New Edinburg and Rosemary Sinclair of the Staves community.The filing period for the 2026 primary election will be from noon Monday, Nov. 3, through noon Wednesday, Nov. 12. The primary election will be held March 3, 2026.The office will officially be vacant since the incumbent, the late County Judge Jimmy Cummings, passed away on Aug. 28. By state law, his appointed successor, Jimmy Dale Adair, cannot run for the office. Cummings' unfilled term ends on Dec. 31, 2026.In addition to the contested county judge's race, three candidates have announced their intentions to run for county sheriff in the Republican primary: Lee Freeman of Rison, Michael Poss of the Randall community, and Keden Shrum of Rison.Two others have announced their intentions to run for countywide offices as well. Deputy Assessor Wendy Mc-Callister Grice previously announced she will run for county assessor after Barbara Reaves announced she will be retiring at the end of her term. County Coroner Chuck Valentin informed the Herald Tuesday that he intends to seek re-election to his same position.Here, in alphabetical order, is some background information and the formal announcements from the latest two candidates who plan to run in the county judge's race: Jim Houston Houston is a retired operations manager, having worked from 1976 through 2015. He worked for companies in the U.S. as well as in Taiwan, Southeast Asia and China. He spent seven years selling real estate after leaving operations management.Before m...
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