In a Senate District 22 executive committee meeting called today in Waco by Republican Party of Texas Chairman Steve Munisteri, eight county Republican chairmen from the district unanimously nominated Sen. Brian Birdwell (R-Granbury) as the Republican candidate in the upcoming November election for the seat formerly held by Kip Averitt.

Last month, Birdwell won a runoff against former Sen. David Sibley to finish out Averitt's term.

From a Republican Party of Texas press release:
 

“We took a vote and it was a unanimous vote,” said Johnson County GOP Chairman and SD 22 executive committee chairman Henry Teich. “The groundswell of the district's voters drove today's action. In my county alone, Sen. Birdwell earned more than 85% of the vote, and in his home county of Hood County he earned over 90%, so it was the consensus of the group that he's the proper nominee for the time and the job. It was a proud moment for me to be able to do this.”

... Those in attendance at the Friday vote include Bosque County GOP Chairman Tom Bratcher, Coryell County Chairman Ed Thompson, Ellis County Chairman Dan Davis, Hill County Chairman Mel Bryant, Hood County Chairman Randy Shelton, Johnson County Chairman Henry Teich, McLennan County Chairman Joe Hinton, Navarro County Chairman Frank Steed, and Somervell County Chairman DeeDee Jones.

State Senator Birdwell retired from the US Army as a Lt Col, and was wounded in the terrorist attack at the Pentagon on September 11, 2001.