Stormy weather capped off a turbulent election season Tuesday, as voters headed to the polls amidst hail, high winds, and tornadoes to cast their votes in the primary runoff elections. House incumbents had a rough night, with only two of the nine Texas House incumbents who had been forced into a runoff prevailing.  

Throughout this article, we reference candidate endorsements. For additional context, please refer to Teach the Vote’s Guide to Endorsements in the 2024 Texas Primaries. 

State Board of Education 

Both incumbents in the two Republican Texas State Board of Education runoffs were able to hold off their challengers. The race in District 10 featured incumbent Tom Maynard (R–Florence) and Round Rock ISD Trustee Dr. Mary Bone, who had been endorsed by Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) as well as Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham (R). Maynard will face Democrat Raquel Saenz Ortiz in November. 

In District 12, incumbent Pam Little (R–Fairview) faced a challenge from Jamie Kohlmann, a former Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF) staffer who had been endorsed by Sen. Ted Cruz as well as Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R), Attorney General Ken Paxton, and Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller (R). Kohlmann’s campaign was heavily financed by voucher supporters, including Texans for Educational Freedom. Little’s Democratic opponent in the November general election is longtime educator and former ATPE member George King. 

Texas Senate 

There were three runoffs in the Texas Senate, with nominees for both parties being chosen in the Senate District (SD) 30 race to replace retiring Sen. Drew Springer (R–Muenster), as well as a rematch in the race to replace Sen. John Whitmire (D–Houston), who was recently elected mayor of Houston. Molly Cook won a May 4 special election to finish out Whitmire’s term, and she held off Johnson Tuesday by just 73 votes, meaning she will remain in the seat for the full four-year term beginning in January. In SD 30, Brent Hagenbuch defeated Jace Yarbrough for the Republican nomination, while Dale Frey earned the Democratic nod over Michael Braxton. Hagenbuch was endorsed by heavy hitters including former President Donald Trump, Sen. John Cornyn, Gov. Greg Abbott (R), Patrick, and Springer himself.  

Texas House 

Speaker’s primary 

In House District (HD) 21, Speaker Dade Phelan (R–Beaumont) narrowly defeated David Covey, who was endorsed by former President Donald Trump, Patrick, and Paxton.  

Following the defeat of his candidate Covey, Paxton released a sharply worded statement in which he issued a threat to House Republicans: “My message to Austin is clear: To those considering supporting Dade Phelan as Speaker in 2025, ask your 15 colleagues who lost re-election how they feel about their decision now. You will not return if you vote for Phelan again.” 

In a statement, Phelan said: “With the conclusion of the runoff, my sights are now set firmly on the November election. I look forward to hitting the ground running to ensure that the Texas House is best positioned for what promises to be another landmark conservative session, bolstered by as strong a Republican majority as possible.” 

Phelan retains his House seat but is not guaranteed to remain as Speaker next session. So far he has one announced challenger in Rep. Tom Oliverson (R–Houston). The involvement of the lieutenant governor in Phelan’s primary race all but ensures a contentious relationship between them will continue into the 89th Legislature.  

Democratic primaries 

• In South Texas’ HD 37, former State Board of Education member Ruben Cortez Jr. was defeated by Jonathan Gracia. Gracia will now challenge incumbent Janie Lopez (R–San Benito) in November. HD 37 is one of the few competitive general election Texas House races.  
• In HD 77, where incumbent Rep. Lina Ortega (D–El Paso) is not seeking reelection, former state Rep. Norma Chavez was defeated by Vince Perez. 
• In HD 80, where Rep. Tracy King (D–Uvalde) is not seeking reelection, Cecilia Castellano defeated Rosie Cuellar for the right to take on former Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin, who won the Republican primary in March. 
• In HD 97, where Rep. Craig Goldman (R–Fort Worth) is stepping aside to run for Congress, Carlos Walker defeated Diane Symons. He will now face the Republican nominee, John McQueeney, in November.  
• In HD 139, where Rep. Jarvis Johnson (D–Houston) stepped down to run for Texas Senate, Angeanette Thibodeaux was defeated by Charlene Ward Johnson. 
• Finally, in HD 146, perhaps the most hotly contested Democratic primary in the state, incumbent Rep. Shawn Thierry (D–Houston) was defeated by challenger Lauren Ashley Simmons. Thierry, who has been under fire from within her own party due to her votes on transgender issues, faced considerable opposition from Simmons, who was endorsed by former Congressman Beto O’Rourke and Congresswomen Lizzie Fletcher and Jasmine Crockett, as well as eight current state reps.  

Republican Primaries 

Of course, the main event of the runoffs took place in the Republican primaries for Texas House, where four pro-public education state House reps faced considerable and well-funded opposition supported by Abbott and funded by pro-voucher groups. Abbott threw considerable time and money behind the challengers in these races, hoping to secure the votes he needs to pass his school voucher plan. Three of the four pro-public education incumbents were defeated by the Abbott-backed candidates.  

• In HD 1, Rep. Gary VanDeaver (R–New Boston) defeated Abbott-endorsed challenger Chris Spencer. Of all the incumbent House members on the ballot (with the exception of the Speaker), VanDeaver managed to turn out the highest percentage of voters—many of whom are public educators he has spent years building relationships with. 
• In HD 33, Rep. Justin Holland (R–Rockwall) was defeated by former Trump spokeswoman Katrina Pierson.  
• In HD 44, Rep. John Kuempel (R–Seguin) was defeated by Alan Schoolcraft.  
• In HD 58, Rep. DeWayne Burns (R–Cleburne) was defeated by Helen Kerwin.  

Three fellow Republican incumbents who were willing to vote for vouchers last session also lost their elections by even wider margins and with lower turnout numbers.  

• In HD 61, incumbent Rep. Frederick Frazier (R–McKinney) was defeated by challenger Keresa Richardson. Frazier found himself under fire for voting for the impeachment of Attorney General Paxton last year, and both Paxton and his wife, Sen. Angela Paxton, endorsed Richardson.  
• In HD 64, incumbent Rep. Lynn Stucky (R–Denton) was defeated by challenger Andy Hopper in a 2022 rematch. Like Frazier, Stucky also found himself facing heat over his vote to impeach Paxton, and Paxton endorsed his challenger. 
• In HD 91, Rep. Stephanie Klick (R–Fort Worth) lost her rematch with 2022 opponent David Lowe. Klick, like Reps. Frazier and Stucky, voted to impeach Ken Paxton last year, a move that drew his support for her opponent. 

In addition to these incumbents, there were other Republican runoffs between two legislative hopefuls.  

• In HD 12, where public education-friendly Rep. Kyle Kacal (R–College Station) had announced earlier this year he would not seek reelection, Trey Wharton handily defeated Ben Bius. Wharton was endorsed by Abbott, while Bius had the endorsements of Patrick and Paxton.  
• In HD 29, where public-education friendly Rep. Ed Thompson (R–Pearland) had announced his retirement earlier this year, Jeffrey Barry defeated Alex Kamkar. Barry was endorsed by Parent PAC and by Thompson, while Kamkar was endorsed by Abbott, Patrick, and Cruz. 
• In HD 30, where Rep. Geanie Morrison had announced she would not seek reelection, A.J. Louderback defeated Jeff Bauknight. Louderback was endorsed by Patrick and Paxton.  
• In HD 76, Lea Simmons defeated Summara Kanwal for a chance to face incumbent Rep. Suleman Lalani (D–Sugar Land). HD 76 is in Fort Bend County, which has become a key battleground in Texas politics and one of the only areas where the general election will be competitive.  
• In HD 97, where current Rep. Craig Goldman (R–Fort Worth) is running for Congress, John McQueeney defeated Cheryl Bean by just 300 votes. McQueeney moves on to take on the winner of the Democratic primary runoff, Carlos Walker.