Republican state Rep. Richard Hayes won another term in Austin after holding off a Democratic challenger in Texas House District 57, the district that covers much of Little Elm.
The county elections office's unofficial count, posted shortly before 1:30 a.m., gave Hayes 40,254 votes, or 50.64%. Democrat Ray Stith received 37,335, or 46.97%, and Libertarian Darren Hamilton received 1,900, or 2.39%. That leaves Hayes about 2,900 votes ahead out of 79,489 cast in the district.
The Record-Chronicle in Denton called it for Hayes based on complete but unofficial returns. The district covers parts of Little Elm, Ponder, Northlake, Corinth, Lake Dallas and other communities north of Lewisville Lake, the paper said.
Hayes, a lawyer for 45 years, took office in 2023 and serves on the House Urban Affairs Committee and the International Relations and Economic Development Committee, according to the Record-Chronicle. In 2025 he filed the House resolution that designated Denton the Halloween Capital of Texas.
The town's other House seat
U.S. Census Bureau district maps put a southern slice of Little Elm in House District 106. Patterson, a Republican first elected in 2018, kept that seat over Democratic challenger Joe Mayes, winning roughly 51.5% to 48.5%.
