AUSTIN, TX — In an effort to unseat Texas House Republicans who voted against Governor Abbott’s private school voucher bill, the governor and his campaign were successful in defeating three of the four incumbents in runoffs Tuesday night.
Only Rep. Gary VanDeaver (HD-1, Texarkana) won his runoff against Abbott-endorsed businessman Chris Spencer. Three more anti-voucher Republicans lost the Republican Primary runoff, including:
- Rep. John Kuempel (44%) (HD-44, Seguin) who lost to Alan Schoolcraft (56%)
- Rep. Justin Holland (44%) (HD-33, Rockwall) who lost to Katrina Pierson (56%)
- Rep. DeWayne Burns (42%) (HD-58, Cleburne) who lost to Helen Kerwin (58%)
Abbott’s campaign funding has shifted the makeup of the Texas House towards a more conservative body. Abbott’s priority is taxpayer-funded vouchers for private school tuition.
Political commentator Harvey Kronberg, of the Austin political website Quorum Report, warned that some of Abbott’s picks for the state house may be too right-wing for their districts. In particular, Kronberg mentioned Marc LaHood, who defeated Steve Allison in the Texas House runoff last night. That district, HD-121 in northern San Antonio, may be too moderate for a staunch conservative like LaHood. Kronberg estimated that four to ten Republican Texas House seats could flip to Democrats due to Abbott’s intervention in primaries against more moderate incumbent Republicans.