The competition for McLennan County’s only contested commissioners court race is playing out like a microcosm of midterm races throughout the country.
Precinct 2 Commissioner D.L. Wilson, a Republican, faces a rematch against Democrat Jeremy Davis after narrowly winning the November 2024 election. Since then, the political climate has changed, as has the shape of the precinct.
The all-Republican Commissioners Court redrew Precinct 2 in 2025 to favor their party. The precinct, long a Democratic stronghold, lost minority-heavy urban areas and gained conservative rural areas.
Now Davis is riding on a gust of state and national Democratic enthusiasm with eyes to overwhelm the redistricting disadvantage and retake the seat.
McLennan County voter registration has topped 163,000, an all-time record, and both parties expect a huge turnout for the Nov. 3 election.
Early voting runs Oct. 19-30. McLennan County voters can prepare for voting through the Bridge’s voting guide, which provides a customized ballot for any county address.
The redrawn Precinct 2 includes portions of North and East Waco that reliably favor Democrats, along with an expanded rural territory toward Axtell and Elm Mott.
Both see the race as highly competitive and are taking nothing for granted as they campaign feverishly.
National and statewide polling suggests a resurgence for Democratic candidates after heavy 2024 losses. Meanwhile, opposition to data center projects – including three in McLennan County – has transcended typical party lines.
Davis, a Waco ISD trustee and middle school educator, said he is sensing enthusiasm for his candidacy.
“I was Jeremy Davis before the maps changed and I’m still Jeremy Davis now,” Davis said in an interview last week with the Bridge and KWBU. “We've been getting great feedback from across the precinct. … We've been meeting with community members who are energetic, who are ready to vote, who want a change, who want true representation at the county level.”
Wilson exuded equal confidence, citing his dogged campaigning and his track record meeting his constituents’ needs as commissioner.
“I don’t sleep much right now,” he said. “We’ve been going to every event we can go to and just get my name out there.”
Wilson was already well-known in the county before taking office, after a career that included stock car racer, surveyor, Department of Public Safety trooper and Riesel ISD school resource officer.
Whoever wins will face challenges involving data centers, the county budget and the ongoing struggle to maintain rural infrastructure.
Responding to data centers
Two of the three known data center projects proposed for McLennan County are in Precinct 2:. The Cipher project in Riesel and the Lacy Lakeview-Infrakey project near Elm Mott. Both have catalyzed rural opponents, who have demanded that commissioners intervene.
Davis and Wilson agree on the need for more regulation of the data center projects in McLennan County, and both say state laws need to change to give counties regulatory power over projects in unincorporated areas.
“The more that I'm educated on data centers, the more I learn they take a lot of our water, a lot of our energy, a lot of our rural infrastructure, and we don't get that same amount of effort put back into our communities, normally,” Davis said.
Davis advocates for a county moratorium on data center projects. Commissioners in nearby Hill County passed a moratorium in the spring but withdrew it after developers filed a nine-figure lawsuit against the county.
Wilson said he and commissioners decided against a moratorium because of those legal liabilities. But Wilson noted he was the only commissioner to support the idea of an “agriculture development district” in McLennan County. Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller promoted the idea as a workaround to protect rural land from data centers.
Wilson’s peers on the commissioners court balked at the idea of becoming the first county to try such a district.
In his interview, Davis accused Wilson of cozying up to local data center developers while freezing out county residents organizing against them, a charge Wilson rejects.
Wilson said he supports the Stop the Waco Data Center group, a grassroots organization founded by Ross-area residents seeking to stop the Lacy Lakeview-Infrakey data center.
“I've been to a few Stop the Waco Data Center meetings,” Davis said. “I've met with their leadership. I've heard their pleas and their positions. I understand directly how it will actually affect those who live in Precinct 2, and that's why my position is against the data centers.”
Repairing the roads
The county’s four commissioners and county judge vote on county budgets and policies. Commissioners maintain roads and bridges in unincorporated areas of their precincts.
Where that work does or doesn’t happen is a regular source of debate.
Both Precinct 2 candidates were equally emphatic that they best understood the road and bridge pain points of precinct residents.
Wilson declared road and bridge repair as his priority when he joined the court in 2024. He cites his decade of experience with the Texas Department of Transportation as a surveyor and road repair specialist.
He claims to have seen out more than 100 miles of road repair in his tenure, including stretches of Elk Road, Meier Settlement Road and Woodlake Lane.
“I've got work boots on now, so that's just who I am. That's just what I've done all my career,” Wilson said. Davis said his concern is how road and bridge projects are prioritized.
“People feel like their roads are not prioritized based on need, but based on proximity to the relationship with our current county commissioner,” Davis said. He did not elaborate on the accusation.
Davis proposed an online portal that shows the current road work priority list to improve transparency and ensure projects are tackled on the basis of need, not favoritism.
Economic development
County leaders have long prioritized economic development to provide jobs and better pay and more spending in the community as well as more tax base. The county gives tax abatements to qualifying industries, as well as direct incentives through the city-county economic development corporation.
Attracting new business has taken on added significance for Texas counties as state lawmakers target the property taxes that fund local governments.
Wilson aligns with the economic development approach favored by the Greater Waco Chamber of Commerce, focusing on attracting advanced manufacturers to the county and developing a workforce pipeline with McLennan Community College and Texas State Technical College.
“The Greater Waco Chamber is working hard, bringing these big companies from all over the United States and the world to Waco, Texas,” Wilson said. “We do give some tax incentives for those big companies, but we do not give tax incentives for windmills, solar farms or data centers.”
Davis said the county needs to think more holistically about development so every Precinct 2 resident can benefit.
“When I talk about economic development in Precinct 2, I'm talking about job training,” Davis said.
He said the new TSTC WorkSITE facility, which provides specialized job training for local industry, was a good idea, but few Precinct 2 residents he’s spoken to are aware it exists.
“There’s a part of WorkSITE that’s missing, and that’s getting the people who need it to the places to gain the skills,” Davis said.
Davis also argued that small businesses have been left out of the development discussion as the county pursues massive private investments.
“The work has always been how can we make sure that the ones who don't have a voice are amplified. How can we make sure that everyone in our community gets what they need?” Davis said.
Editor's Note: This story was produced as a collaboration between KWBU and the Waco Bridge.
