Duty wins Williamson County DA race

WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) - Republican Jana Duty was leading by a 60-40 margin Tuesday in the race for Williamson County District Attorney's race with votes still yet to be counted.

The exoneration of Michael Morton just over a year ago has shaped the race.

Duty wrapped the wrongful conviction of Morton in the 1986 killing of his wife around longtime incumbent John Bradley in the Republican primary. Even though Bradley did not prosecute Morton, Duty capitalized on his opposition to testing the DNA evidence that would exonerate Morton.

But even before Duty bested Bradley, Democratic lawyer Ken Crain began calling for a change in leadership in the DA's office. It has been safely in Republican hands for a generation.

Crain has practice criminal and family law in the county for more than 25 years and was an assistant county attorney in the mid-1980s.

For the past seven years, Duty has been county attorney where she prosecuted adult misdemeanor, juvenile felony and misdemeanor cases.

Full results of races in Central Texas