Texas Democrats flip House as education veterans take office
New leaders with backgrounds in public schools and unions are set to challenge the state's $1 billion voucher program.
By Matthew Collins ·
Texas Democrats have secured a majority in the state House after voters elected a slate of candidates with deep ties to public education. The shift follows two years since Republican Governor Greg Abbott signed a $1 billion private school voucher program into law. The new legislative body now includes several former teachers, school board members, and union leaders who ran on promises to reform the state's funding system.
Gina Hinojosa, the Democratic gubernatorial nominee, served as president of the Austin ISD school board. She has pledged to fire Texas Education Agency commissioner Mike Morath, a role he has held since 2016. U.S. Senate nominee James Talarico, a former Rhodes Middle School teacher, first entered politics after opposing education cuts in 2011. Both candidates campaigned on the need to stabilize public school funding.
In the San Antonio area, Adrian Reyna won House District 125 with 67.53 percent of the vote. Reyna, a union leader at San Antonio ISD, replaces retired Representative Ray Lopez. Kristian Carranza flipped House District 118 back to blue with 61.69 percent of the vote, defeating Republican Jorge Borrego. Borrego helped draft the voucher plan while working for the Texas Public Policy Foundation. Carranza said she would immediately call for an audit of the voucher program.
Zack Dunn defeated incumbent Marc LaHood in House District 121 with 54 percent of the vote. The Northside district has not elected a Democrat since 1981. LaHood was a vocal supporter of the voucher program, which Dunn called a billion dollars taken from public schools. In Houston, Michelle Williams, an educator from Houston ISD, unseated Charles Cunningham in House District 127.
State Representative Diego Bernal, a member of the House Public Education Committee, said the new chamber would focus on school finance and accountability. He expects the House to revisit the voucher law and the STAAR testing system. Hinojosa told supporters in San Antonio that she would pause the A-F accountability system and end the STAAR test.
Local school districts in San Antonio faced difficult losses on election night. Northside ISD, the fourth-largest district in Texas with about 96,000 students, saw four tax measures defeated. Those measures were intended to fund staff pay raises and infrastructure projects. Melina Espiritu-Azocar, president of the Northside AFT union, said the election of Hinojosa and the new legislature provides renewed hope despite the local setbacks.
Democrats are now positioning themselves to take the House Speakership. Republican Speaker Dustin Burrows defended his conference's record, noting that lawmakers put $7.7 billion into public schools alongside the voucher funds. However, district officials argued that many of those dollars came with mandates that increased their costs. The new Democratic leadership will begin addressing these issues in the upcoming legislative session.
