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DALLAS - Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price claimed victory in the primary race for his District 3 seat after maintaining a 2-1 lead over his main challenger, former Dallas councilmember Dwaine Caraway throughout Tuesday evening.
Price topped 50 percent of the vote and called the win well before all precincts reported results. Caraway swiftly followed by conceding and offering his congratulations to the commissioner.
Micah B. Phillips and Cedric W. Davis, Sr. virtually tied for third place.
Voters cast their ballots Tuesday for Dallas County Commissioner District 3 with a viral video of a fight between two candidates fresh on their minds.
The hotly-contested primary election comes one week and one day after a fight broke out between Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price and former Dallas councilmember Dwaine Caraway during a radio broadcast at a local gospel station.
Video of the heated exchange on Feb. 22 surfaced online almost immediately after the incident at KHVN Gospel Radio. Price and Caraway were discussing their campaigns on the air. During a commercial break, Price and Caraway’s exchange escalated to shouting, shoving and accusations of infidelity between Price and Caraway’s wife.
Video of the incident was recorded by one of Phillips’ staff members. Phillips, who is also a candidate for Dallas County Commissioner’s Court District 3, shared it with the media. A fourth candidate, Davis, Sr., was also present.
Extended video clips of the fight were released the next day and Price apologized for the incident.
“I apologize for this thing having degenerated into these kinds of episodes,” Price said last week. “It’s a real mark if you will on the community. So I just apologize. That’s all I can do.”
Caraway said there was a good reason for his behavior.
“I blew it [Feb. 22],” Caraway said last week. “But I blew it for cause and reasons of overly passion. But at the end of the day, he had my campaign worker by the throat.”
Police are looking into that claim that Price put his hands on Caraway’s staff member. Additional video released by Phillips appears to show Price grabbing a man wearing a gray hoodie.
"John Wiley Price had my campaign worker by the throat, picking him up out of the air and it caused a reaction from me - an overreaction," Caraway said.
Two people connected to the fight have filed lawsuits.
In an interview before the fight, Caraway said Price hasn’t done anything for South Dallas and it’s time for change.
“You have your own little secret agenda and your own little clique and I’m glad that I wasn’t a part of their click,” Caraway said. “You can’t get it done for the people.”
The looming issue over the race is Price’s pending trial and federal indictment for public corruption.
Price believes the upcoming trial won’t affect the race.
“I’ve got lawyers," Price said. "I’m not worried about that and I don’t think my constituents are worried about that. This has been going on the last five or six years. We stay focused.”
Price said his record of service is the difference in this election.
“I’m their man and I’ve always been their man,” Price said. “People reach out to people that they think will try to provide assistance and that’s what we're supposed to do. We're supposed to do that and nobody does it better.”