As of last night when the polls closed, months and months of work finally paid off for Texas families. THSC worked with volunteers all over the state who sacrificed their time to vet and interview candidates who were on the ballot for the 2024 Primary.

Last night, Texas homeschoolers experienced massive victories statewide. It was an excellent night for pro-family candidates!

Huge Wins for Texas Homeschoolers and Families and More to Come. . .

Homeschool families saw vast numbers of pro-family and pro-homeschool candidates in Texas win their elections outright last night. Here are some of the top wins from yesterday’s election results. The list of wins is long, so hang tight, and we’ll walk you through the most significant pro-family wins!

Of several statewide judicial races, THSC’s top priority was defending homeschool dads and Texas Supreme Court Justice John Devine, who has been a strong defender of parental rights on the Texas Supreme Court. With 98.86% of the results counted, Justice Devine carried 50.4% of the vote and appears to have won reelection!

In Texas Senate District 30, our endorsed candidate, Brent Hagenbuch, is headed to a run-off in May with Jace Yarbrough, as neither candidate won a majority of the vote last night. Additionally, pro-family incumbents endorsed by THSC essentially cruised to victory last night. Incumbents Matt Shaheen, Jeff Leach, and Candy Noble all won their races.

In the most anticipated race of the evening, David Covey forced Speaker of the House Dade Phelan into a runoff election. No speaker of the Texas House has been forced into a runoff in 50 years. Covey ended the evening leading with 46% of the vote compared to Phelan’s 43%. This historic upset could carry major implications for the Texas House, which would be forced to choose a new speaker if Phelan loses his Runoff election. Even if Phelan prevails, his chances of retaining his speaker position may be lost if other House members perceive him as too vulnerable to lead.

Incumbents Who Voted Against Families Were Voted Out

Across Texas, voters issued an absolutely scathing indictment of legislators who voted against pro-family legislation and thought they could skate by without accountability. Each of THSC’s endorsed challengers below successfully unseated incumbents who voted against families on several or all of the following issues:

• Homeschool Access to UIL Extracurricular Activities
• Educational Choice for Homeschool and Private School Families
• The Abolition of the Juvenile Curfew Bill
• Ending the Practice of Anonymous CPS Reporting (frequently used to make false CPS reports)
• Fair Treatment During the College Admission Process for Homeschool Students.

Here are the results of those races:

1. Homeschool mom Joanne Shofner dominated her race outright by beating out incumbent Travis Clardy. Shofner won with over 60 percent of the vote in Texas for HD 11.
2. Janis Holt also won her race by pulling in over 50 percent of the votes to unseat Ernest Bailes in Texas HD 18.
3. Homeschool dad Wes Virdell in Texas HD 53 captured the win with 60 percent of the votes for the open seat held by Andrew Murr. Murr was the general investigating chairman for the impeachment of Attorney General Ken Paxton and chose not to seek reelection. Wes Virdell will now be the House Member representing the largest geographic district in Texas.
4. Homeschool mom Hillary Hickland defeated incumbent Hugh Shine in Texas HD 55.
5. Talk about a landslide victory! Mike Olcott dominated his race by unseating incumbent Glenn Rogers in Texas HD 60 by collecting nearly 65 percent of the vote.
6. Shelley Luther successfully unseated incumbent Reggie Smith in Texas HD 62 capturing 53 percent of the vote.
7. Caroline Fairly won a four-way race in Texas HD 87. The seat was previously occupied by Representative Four Price, one of the leading Republican voices who voted against parental choice legislation.
8. Marc LaHood won his race with over 50% of the vote against incumbent Steve Allison for Texas HD 121.

All combined, the large number of victories in the Texas House almost certainly secures enough votes to move major parental choice legislation and other pro-family priorities through the legislature.

What’s Next?

Primary Elections are not always won outright in the first round. Several candidates endorsed by THSC are headed to the May 4, 2024 Primary Runoff Election to replace incumbents who voted against pro-family legislation.

1. THSC endorsed Alex Kamkar will vie for the hotly contested open seat in Texas HD 29 against Jeffrey Barry. Kamkar captured 44 percent of the vote while Jeffrey Barry was a few points ahead with 48 percent of the vote. There were 4 challengers in this race.
2. After collecting over 40 percent of the vote, A.J. Louderback is advancing to the runoff for representation in Texas HD 30.
3. After winning almost 50 percent of the vote, Alan Schoolcraft will enter into a run-off against incumbent John Kuempel for the seat in Texas HD 44. There were originally 4 challengers in this race.
4. In Texas HD 58, Helen Kerwin is advancing to a Runoff Election after winning 48 percent of the vote. She will face off against incumbent DeWayne Burns who captured only 41 percent of the vote.

Each of these races presents an opportunity for families to secure additional legislative seats for pro-family candidates on top of the already stellar results from the election last night.

Other Notable Run-Offs Ahead

1. Two other incumbents who voted consistently against pro-family legislation were forced into a runoff election as well, although THSC has not issued any endorsements in these races at this point.
   • Chris Spencer and incumbent Gary VanDeaver will face one another in a run-off. VanDeaver collected 45 percent of the vote and his challenger Spencer won 43 percent of the vote.
   • Incumbent Justin Holland only secured 38 percent of his vote in his race and we are expecting that challenger Katrina Pierson will win the run-off for Texas HD 33.
2. Most significantly, homeschool mom and parental rights champion Rep. Stephanie Klick will face a runoff against David Lowe for her seat in Texas HD 91. She collected 48 percent of the vote while her opponent captured 46 percent. During her time in office, Rep. Klick has been a reliable advocate for homeschooling and parental rights in Texas.

You Can’t Win Them All

Unfortunately, you can’t win them all. Even though this was one of the best Primary Elections that homeschool families have ever witnessed, there were some disappointing losses last night.

Most notable losses from last night:

1. Joshua Feuerstein lost his race to incumbent Keith Bell for Texas HD 4.
2. Paulette Carson lost to incumbent Trent Ashby for the seat in Texas HD 9.
3. Liz Case lost to incumbent Stan Lambert in Texas HD 71.
4. Drew Darby survived against challenger Stormy Bradley in Texas HD 72.
5. Ken King, one of the most consistently bad votes for families in the Texas House, will return to his seat in Texas HD 88, defeating challenger Karen Post.
6. Charlie Geren will return to his seat in Texas HD 99.

What Does the Future Hold?

We are praying that the momentum of THSC’s endorsed candidates, through outright wins and advancements to the runoff election, will propel the most pro-family and pro-homeschooling candidates to ultimate victory in the May and November elections and produce the most successful legislative session ever for families in 2025.

Please pray for our elected officials and for the candidates running in the remaining elections this year. There is still work left to be done!

Thank you for praying and for voting since these are two of the most effective ways that we are Keeping Texas Families Free!