State Sen. Kip Averitt submitted his resignation to Gov. Rick Perry’s office Wednesday, and Perry wasted no time calling a special election for the Waco Republican’s seat.

That election will be held May 8 — a Saturday — and candidates will have until April 7 to file, according to a release from the governor’s office Wednesday afternoon.

The early voting period will run from April 26 to May 4.

Wednesday marked the end of Kip Averitt’s 18-year tenure in the Texas Legislature. He served in both the state House and Senate.
Duane A. Laverty/Tribune-Herald, file

Voters in South Dallas also will have a chance to vote in a special election to replace a state representative who resigned after pleading guilty to charges of tax evasion and bribery.

Averitt said he was shuttering his primary campaign in January because of health concerns. The race will determine who fills out the final eight months of his term.

Wednesday marked the end of Averitt’s 18-year tenure in the Texas Legislature. He served in both the state House and Senate.

Former state Sen. David Sibley, a Waco Republican, said Tuesday he plans to run to replace Averitt.

Darren Yancy of Burleson, who lost to Averitt in the March 2 GOP primary, said he, too, will run.

“If it’s called, yes, I do plan on filing,” Yancy said Wednesday.

Another possible candidate, Brian Birdwell, who suffered injuries during the Sept. 11 attack on the Pentagon, was more tentative.

Last week, Birdwell, who lives in Granbury and works as a public speaker for WallBuilders, said through a Dallas public relations firm that he’s discussing a run “with conservatives in Waco and across the district.”

The winner of the special election will not be guaranteed a chance to compete in the November general election.

Democratic and Republican county party chairs across the 10-county district will meet separately to determine their candidates to represent the district in the 2011 legislative session.

mshapiro@wacotrib.com

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