By TFCA Lobbyists, Randy Cain and Adam Burklund
With nearly all election results in, only two of the eight Republican House incumbents won their runoffs. As noted, Speaker Phelan (R-Beaumont) won his race, as did Rep. Gary VanDeaver (R-New Boston). Losing their races were incumbents Justin Holland (R-Rockwall), John Kuempel (R-Seguin), DeWayne Burns (R-Cleburne), Frederick Frazier (R-McKinney), Lynn Stucky (R-Denton) and Stephanie Klick (R-North Richland Hills). Incumbent Houston House Democrat Shawn Thierry also lost her race.
The loss of these six incumbents from the “centrist” Republican team adds to the eight other seats lost to the far-right wing of the party in March. That doesn’t include the handful of open seats (due to retirements and expulsion) that will see new Republican House members next session. Many of these losses can be attributed to opposition by Governor Abbott in his quest to establish a private voucher system in Texas. However, AG Paxton also actively campaigned against these legislators, who all supported the House’s impeachment proceedings against him. Lt. Governor Patrick also targeted the Speaker and a few other incumbent Republicans, with the support of Trump’s endorsement power.
It’s expected that Democrats will take at least a couple of House seats next session, further adjusting the balance of power in the House. The question now will be whether Phelan can retain the speakership and how effective the growing far-right can be in impacting House operations.
In the Senate, Brent Hagenbuch was able to win the Republican nomination to replace retiring Senator Drew Springer in North Texas. In the open Houston Senate seat, formerly held by now-Mayor John Whitmire, the race between Rep. Jarvis Johnson and Molly Cook in the Democratic primary has not been called.
What this all means for us is that we are likely to see consistency in the Senate and changes in the House, though how much change is yet to be determined. House Speaker Phelan may retain his power and keep many of his chairmanships in place. We’re also likely to see overall committee membership shift with many new legislators coming into the House.
Below is a full list of results, with winners stylized in red and incumbents with bold/italic. Note that at this time, a few races are still awaiting a final decision
Texas House
Texas Senate