The results, if they hold steady, would maintain Democrat control of a seat previously held by Democrat Melissa Ortega, who opted not to run for reelection last December on the conservative-dominated board.
The seat represents a swath of West and Central Texas, including El Paso and a small portion of Bexar County .
At a watch party at Mission Open Air Market on the city’s South Side, Stevens said he attributes the positive results to voters having more awareness about the position, as well as his experience as an educator.
“There’s been a lot of emphasis that’s been put on the experience part, that’s what I’ve been running the campaign on,” he said.
Even with a 10% gap in votes at around 9 p.m., Reveles said via text that he was still optimistic about the results, adding that he hopes to “continue to receive support from throughout West Texas.”
Pérez-Díaz is the most senior Democrat on the State Board of Education and was first elected to her position in 2012.
The winner of the District 1 seat on the 15 member board will help shape Texas education through setting curriculum standards, approving charter school applications and altering graduation requirements, among other responsibilities.
Debates and positions on those issues have landed the board in hot water over the years, including an ongoing debate over a state-authored curriculum dubbed Bluebonnet Learning that some see as having a Christian bias.
Both candidates told the San Antonio Report in previous interviews that they would reject curriculum with an over-emphasis on Christianity.
The race broke from others this cycle by skirting the fractious disagreement that has dominated education issues in other races, with the candidates generally agreeing on the need for educator-centered governance, increased rigor in curriculum and less politics in education.
While Reveles is staunchly opposed to vouchers, a key issue in the general election, Stevens said he was “neutral” on the topic.
Candidates also agreed that state school governance has drifted too far from the guidance of teachers and others on the local level, and that state standardized testing needs to be reformed.
Both candidates projected confidence in the final hours of the election, with both visiting polling locations.
Reveles said the ones he visited were mostly quiet, adding in a text message that while he was “anxious about the national race,” he was “confident about [his].”
Stevens also visited polling locations, including one at Scarborough Elementary School in the Northside Independent School District, where he alleged that members of his staff were told to leave and remove signs because “it was private property and electioneering was prohibited.”
Stevens criticized the district after the incident for what he said was hindering candidates’ ability to connect with voters, calling it an interference with the democratic process.
Barry Perez, a spokesman for the district said in an email that “no one was asked to leave campus and no one was escorted off campus.” He also noted the incident was the only one reported among 70 voting locations across the district.
“We are looking into the matter and will take appropriate action, if necessary, to address any issues of miscommunication or improper protocol being followed,” Perez said.
San Antonio Report reporter Tracy Idell Hamilton contributed to this report.