Perry Thomas wins district attorney race
District Attorney candidate Perry Thomas on March 5 in front of the Llano County Clerk’s Office on the courthouse square in Llano as he awaited the results of the Republican primary election. By the end of the evening, he had become the district attorney-elect. He has no Democratic challenger in the November general election and will take over the office on Jan. 1, 2025. Staff photo by Dakota Morrissiey
Perry Thomas will be the next district attorney for the 33rd/424th Judicial District. He defeated Republican primary challenger Marie Primm of Sunrise Beach Village by 1,314 votes in a four-county election to replace retiring DA Wiley “Sonny” McAfee.
Thomas received 9,363 total votes from Blanco, Burnet, Llano, and San Saba county voters on March 5, while Primm got 8,049 votes. With no Democratic challenger in the November general election, Thomas will take over the office on Jan. 1, 2025.
The current defense attorney formerly served as first assistant district attorney under McAfee for about four years.
“My goal would be to take over and not miss a beat,” Thomas told DailyTrib.com after the election results were in. “I plan to have a smooth transition doing the work of the people.”
Thomas won with 53.77 percent of the vote in an election with big decisions and low voter turnout. Only 25.88 percent of Burnet County’s 37,510 registered voters cast ballots for district attorney, tax assessor-collector, Precinct 3 county commissioner, and Precinct 2 constable. Primm received 46.23 percent of the vote.
In Llano County, 31.57 percent of the 17,931 registered voters cast a ballot in the primaries. In Blanco County, it was 22.08 percent of 10,662 registered voters; and in San Saba County, 34.55 percent of 3,728 registered voters.
Thomas has extensive experience as a prosecutor, starting with 24 years in the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office before moving to Burnet and became the first assistant DA. He started his own firm, The Law Office of Perry Thomas PLCC in Burnet, almost five years ago, working on the other side of the table as a defense attorney. He currently lives in Llano.
“My joy, my pleasure, my calling has always been prosecution and representing the rights of crime victims,” Thomas told DailyTrib.com in a pre-election interview.
Thomas said he will soon start cutting back on the number of defense cases he takes on as he transitions into becoming a full-time prosecutor. He will closely follow ethics rules already in place for how to handle pending cases he is defending after he takes over the DA role, he said.
“It will be like there’s a wall between me and that case,” he said.
Thomas thanked the voters in the four counties in the 33rd/424th Judicial District.
“I am honored to have been elected and look forward to working for the people of this judicial district,” he said.