Texas State Board of Education holds GOP majority, spared from blue tsunami

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(The Center Square) – There were nine Texas State Board of Education races up for reelection on Nov. 3. 

The current board of 15 members holds a Republican majority, which appears to be preserved after the election. Three seats were flipped Democrat and one seat remains too close to call, according to unofficial results. 

Of the four incumbents running for reelection, two won. One lost and one race is tied.

In the special election for District 4, incumbent Republican Tammie Nielsen lost to Democrat Coretta Mallet-Fontenot, 78.5% to 21.5%. Nielsen was appointed by Abbott to fill an open seat after the previous incumbent, a Democrat, ran for another office. Nielsen had no teaching or education experience. Mallett-Fontenot has decades.

In District 7 in southeast Texas and the upper Gulf Coast, incumbent Republican Julie Pickren defeated Democrat Tiffany Perkinz 52% to 48%. Pickren has no teaching or education experience, Perkinz has more than a decade. Even after Republican anti-Muslim sentiment was expressed among Austin leaders, Pickren won after championing an Islamic charter school in the Houston area.

The District 8 race is too close to call. The district covers east Texas and parts of the greater Houston region. Incumbent Republican Audrey Young and Democrat Dana Van De Walker are tied 50-50. Young has decades of experience as an educator. Van De Walker has taught and served in administrative education roles. 

In District 13, incumbent Democrat Tiffany Clark defeated Republican Carlos Garza 79% to 21%. The district covers the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. Both are educators but Clark said she ran to defeat “MAGA conservatives” in Austin. 

In the five open seats, three Democrats and two Republicans won. 

In District 2 in south Texas and the Gulf Coast, Democrat Thomas Garcia defeated Republican Victoria Hinojosa 58.1% to 41.9%. Hinojosa had no teaching or education background; Garcia has years of experience, including founding a nonprofit to help underserved high school students. This seat flipped blue. 

In District 5 in central Texas, Democrat Allison Bush defeated Mica Arellano 70% to 30%. Both are longtime educators.

In District 6, which covers southeast Texas and the north Houston suburbs, Democrat Michell Palmer defeated Republican Tiffany Nelson 50.7% to 49.3%. Nelson had no teaching or education background. Palmer is a former teacher of nearly 10 years who advocates for climate change and opposes the Bible being taught in public school. This seat flipped blue.

In District 9 in northeast Texas, Republican Kason Huddleston defeated Democrat Ericka Ledferd 58% to 42%. Huddleston, a pastor and businessman, has no educational or teaching experience. Ledferd has decades.

In District 14 in north central Texas, Republican Mindy Bumgarner defeated Democrat Amy Taylor 56% to 44%. Bumgarner advocates for parental rights and school choice programs.

The board was seen as a target by Democrats and Republicans who oppose key policies that were advanced under Abbott and Republican leadership in the state legislature. They oppose the Bible being taught in public schools, identified numerous errors in a new Bluebonnet curriculum, oppose the taxpayer-funded scholarships for Education Savings Accounts for private school students, and oppose how Social Studies and other curriculum was overhauled. 

The SBOE is the policy-making body of the Texas Education Agency, which is statutorily required to adopt policies, rules and regulations; approve budgets; execute contracts to purchase textbooks and instructional materials; direct the investment of the Permanent School Fund; among other actions. Members serve on three committees.

Each member represents roughly 1.8 million Texans in 15 districts. The majority are located in the eastern half and most populated areas of the state. District 15 in the Panhandle has the most counties (87); District 11 in the Dallas area has the least (five). 

Members are elected to four-year overlapping terms. Of the incumbents, including outgoing members, all but five are Republicans. Eight are women. Nine are Caucasian, four are Black and two are Hispanic. 

This demographic will change slightly after final election results are confirmed.