Democrats take the Texas House and the State Board of Education

2 hours ago

5 min read

For the first time in 24 years, Democrats have won control of the Texas House of Representatives. And for Texas AFT members who spent years organizing, knocking on doors and fighting for public schools, Tuesday's election brought victories that once seemed out of reach.

Texas House

The historic shift ended Republican control of the chamber dating back to the 2002 election. Democrats entered this Election Day facing an 88-62 Republican majority, with even their most ambitious targets falling short of the seats needed to flip the House. But voters delivered something far bigger than political observers anticipated, and currently Democrats have won in 76, Republicans in 61, with 13 races still uncalled.

The gains stretched across Texas, from South Texas and San Antonio to the suburbs of Houston, Dallas, and Fort Worth. Several of the winning candidates had earned Texas AFT's endorsement for their commitment to public education, educator working conditions, and opposition to school privatization.

In South Texas, Texas AFT-endorsed Oziel Ochoa Jr. flipped House District (HD) 37, defeating Republican incumbent Janie Lopez. The victory was particularly notable in a region where Republicans had made significant electoral gains in recent years.

San Antonio delivered some of the night's most remarkable results. Texas AFT member Adrian Reyna (San Antonio Alliance) will represent HD 125. In HD 118, Texas AFT-endorsed Kristian Carranza won a Republican-held seat, defeating Jorge Borrego. In neighboring HD 121, endorsed candidate Zack Dunn defeated Republican incumbent Marc LaHood, becoming the first Democrat elected to represent the district in more than four decades.Those victories are part of a broader Democratic surge in Bexar County, where voters helped reshape the region's representation in the Legislature.

In central Texas, former Texas AFT member and labor leader Montserrat Garibay, secured the seat vacated by governor-elect Hinojosa. Elsewhere, Texas AFT-endorsed candidates also celebrated victories, including Cassandra Hernandez in HD 115, and Odus Evbagharu in HD 135. These wins helped strengthen the Democratic majority and demonstrated the reach of pro-public education candidates across different parts of the state.

The Republican losses extended into suburban districts that had long been difficult for Democrats to win. Republican incumbents fell in Dallas and Denton counties, while Democrats also made gains in Harris and Tarrant counties. Notably, the House Public Education committee loses Charles Cunningham in HD 127, and Jeff Leach’s race in HD 67 is in recount territory.

For Texas AFT, these results are especially meaningful. Our members have spent years advocating for fully funded public schools, better pay and working conditions, and an end to policies that divert public resources toward private school vouchers. This election sent many of the candidates who share those priorities to the Capitol.

The work ahead remains substantial, but this moment deserves to be celebrated. Every volunteer shift, every conversation with a neighbor and every educator who spoke up for their students helped build the movement behind these victories. After more than two decades of Republican control, the Texas House is changing hands. And Texas educators will enter the next legislative session with new allies, a stronger voice and renewed hope for the future of public education.

State Board of Education

There is so much good news at the top, it would be tempting to give less focus to those races a little farther down the ticket, but the State Board of Education (SBOE) also flipped the three seats needed for a majority on Tuesday. Six of the eight new members elected this week are current or former educators.

Thomas Ray Garcia (AAUP-Texas AFT) flipped District 2 with 58.1% of the vote. Outgoing Member LJ Francis won this seat by less than 1% in 2022.
Dr. Corrett Mallet-Fontenot (Houston Federation of Teachers) won District 4 after a special precinct chair nomination in August. Former Member Staci Childs also won her bid for a seat in the Texas House.
Allison Bush (former Bastrop AFT) delivered a resounding victory in District 5, held by Dr. Rebecca Bell-Mesereau since 2021.
Michelle Palmer (Aldine AFT) flipped District 6 by almost 2 points after previously running in this seat. The district was won by Republican Member Will Hickman by 20 points in 2022.
Dr. Dana Van de Walker, Lone Star College, defeated incumbent Dr. Audrey Young by less than 1000 votes in District 8 which was 30-point race in 2022.** This race has not officially been called and is within the margin of a recount.
Dr. Tiffany Clark, who has been a strong ally on the board for the last two years, also handily secured re-election in District 13.

This means that in January there will be four current or former Texas AFT members on the SBOE. Drs. Clark and Van de Walker are also active on K-12 and higher education campuses. We cannot overstate the value of adding the perspectives and experiences of these current and former educators to the SBOE.

While District 7 held by Julie Pickren did not flip, the Democratic challenger, Tiffany Perkinz ran a substantial campaign taking this presumed Republican seat to a truly competitive race. Pickren retains her seat by a narrow margin, pulling far fewer votes than in 2022, and will have to run again in 2030 before redistricting. We hope the message delivered by her district will result in more constituent-focused comments in the boardroom.

District 9, held by former Chairman Dr. Keven Ellis, was won by Kason Huddleston who is sure to bring more conservative views to this seat. Similarly, Mindy Bumgarner, wife of (now former) Rep. Ben Bumgarner campaigned on “keeping radical political agendas out of our classrooms” in District 14. Member Evelyn Brooks effectively gave up her seat to run against Greg Abbott in the gubernatorial primary.

So, even though voters delivered a majority of seats to Democrats, they also delivered two more conservative members in other seats. There will be eight new members on this fifteen-member body beginning next year, which means there will be a steep learning curve all around the room. Chairman Aaron Kinsey’s term at the helm expires in April 2028 just before he must defend his own seat.

For better or worse (and we think worse) the SBOE has completed most of its rulemaking related to the 89^th session and should have a quiet spring while it awaits new direction from the Legislature.

Texas Senate

Of course, the biggest news is the goodbye and good riddance to Dan Patrick. However, there are some other shifts in the chamber that members should be aware of.

Senator Taylor Rehmet, who won in what now seems like a prescient special election in Senate District (SD) 9 in Tarrant County in February, retained his seat and will finally get to participate fully in the Senate come January.

Though the overall makeup of the body did not flip, there will be a few new faces on the other side of the aisle.

Rep. Trent Ashby won the open seat in SD 3 after the retirement of Sen. Robert Nichols.
In May, Brett Ligon won a special election in SD 4 and won a full term on Tuesday.
SD 11 was vacated by Mayes Middleton for his unsuccessful Attorney General run. Rep. Dennis Paul will take his place.
Rep. David Cook will take the place of Brian Birdwell who vacated his SD 22 seat in May.

As you read above, Sen. Nathan Johnson will swear in as Texas Attorney General creating a vacancy in SD 16, and Sen. Sarah Eckhardt, SD 14, will become the next Comptroller. Both of these electorates favor Democrats, however special elections will need to be called to replace these lawmakers. Until then, our allies will be down a few soldiers while the rule-proof majority remains.

Despite the blue tsunami, there are plenty of hardworking Democrats who came up short in their particular races across the state. (Reminder to our readers that this is the first election where Democrats challenged every seat.) To those that stepped into the arena at all, we thank you. All your work helped the greater effort, and this victory belongs to everyone who took part in earning it. Keep those mail lists active; 2028 will be here soon enough and you may be called upon again to increase the majority!