Early voting surged in McLennan County during the lead-up to the state Senate runoff election between Brian Birdwell and David Sibley.

During the five-day early voting period last week, 5,323 people cast ballots, a 36 percent jump over the early voting period for May’s special election, in which Sibley led all vote-getters and Birdwell came in second.

The increase, which was in Sibley’s home county, was all the more impressive because the May contest had a longer early voting period by two days and featured high-profile city and school board contests.

David Sibley (right) and Brian Birdwell were the top two vote-getters in the May 8 special election.

Sibley, 62, was a state senator through most of the 1990s and recently retired as an Austin lobbyist.

Sibley has focused his campaign on his local roots and past legislative experience.

Birdwell, 48, a retired Army officer and Granbury resident with endorsements from several far-right groups in the state, has tried to position himself as the more conservative of the two Republicans.

With the exception of McLennan, the four largest counties by population in the Senate district saw early voting numbers fall significantly or stay flat.

That bodes well for Sibley, who was 40 percentage points up on Birdwell in McLennan County during the special election.

In Johnson County, which Birdwell won during the special election, 1,051 people have cast ballots early for the runoff, a 10-vote increase from the special election figure.

In Hood County, Birdwell’s home county, which he won by a huge margin, more than 1,000 fewer votes were cast during the early voting period for the runoff than for the special election, a 39 percent decrease.

The May election featured several competitive races, including a heated mayoral contest in Granbury.

Ellis County, where Sibley led all vote-getters with 48.8 percent during the May election, early voting dropped off by 74 percent.

The two campaigns have traded barbs in the final days of the campaign.

Sibley has been critical of a policy espoused by Birdwell and promoted by the conservative Texas Public Policy Foundation that would replace property taxes with a sales tax hike.

According to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Birdwell said such a sales tax increase also would apply to home sales, which drew the most pointed remarks from Sibley.

Sibley argued such a policy would price thousands of Texans out of home ownership.

Birdwell recently recanted, saying he does not favor the tax on home sales.

Meanwhile, an anti-abortion and a small government group, both endorsing Birdwell, published blistering critiques of Sibley for receiving support from Waco philanthropist and Democratic donor Bernard Rapoport.

mshapiro@wacotrib.com

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