Former state Sen. Kip Averitt formally asked Thursday to have his name removed from the general election ballot for his old seat.

“It has been a great privilege and high honor to serve my friends and neighbors,” Kip Averitt wrote.
Duane A. Laverty/Tribune-Herald file

Averitt already had resigned, and Granbury Republican Brian Birdwell was elected Tuesday to fill the post for the remaining six months of Averitt’s term.

But Averitt won an earlier GOP primary race for the seat, and his name remains on the ballot. The Democratic Party did not field a candidate for the race.

“It has been a great privilege and high honor to serve my friends and neighbors, and I will continue to do all I can to support Senate District 22 and the state of Texas,” Averitt wrote in a letter to Secretary of State Hope Andrade.

The state’s election code gives the district’s county chairs from each political party the chance to put up candidates for the race.

Birdwell has said he is interested in the spot on the GOP ballot, and he said he will be able to use his victory to bolster his case with the 10 GOP chairs.

But Averitt said he was concerned that a Birdwell nomination would be subject to legal challenge, alleging the Granbury Republican is not eligible for the position.

Democratic officials in Austin and Waco have said they still are deliberating about the race and whether to field a candidate.

mshapiro@wacotrib.com

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