Mark it in the books! We knew the Runoffs would be historic and momentous, but this: THIS IS BIG. THSC was involved in 16 of the 32 Runoff Races and we captured 10 of the 16 for Texas Homeschoolers and Families. THSC may have seen its most notable round of victories for endorsed candidates yet.

Why Is This So Big?

In 2023, parental choice legislation was the dominant topic in Texas politics. In battles during the regular legislative session and multiple special sessions, 21 Republican lawmakers joined with Democratic lawmakers to kill parental choice bills. Every one of those 21 Republicans also voted against UIL Equal Access for homeschool students in 2021.

A political outsider could have been forgiven for thinking that was the end of it. Pro-family, pro-parental choice advocates had made their best effort and had failed. But then commenced one of the biggest backlashes in modern Texas political history.

Changing Of The Guards

One of THSC’s primary focuses has been to unapologetically unseat the 21 Republican House members who voted with all the Democrats to kill parental choice and who tried to block UIL Equal Access for homeschoolers. Four who decided to retire rather than face angry voters in a reelection bid were subsequently replaced with pro-parental rights candidates. Parental rights advocates then unseated six more in the March Primaries. Heading into the runoff elections, five more of these 21 seats were up for grabs. Three of those five went to pro-family candidates when the final results came in last night.

We told you this was BIG; in fact, hang tight, and we’ll walk you through the most significant pro-family wins!

First, a major Thank You to the THSC Vetting Committees. The favorable wins that we are about to report only exist because of THSC volunteers all over the state who have sacrificed their time to vet and interview candidates who were on the ballot for the 2024 Primary Runoff.

And Now Drum Roll Please. . .

Three most notable wins:

1. Katrina Pierson removed incumbent Justin Holland from Texas HD 33 by pulling in 56 percent of the vote.
2. Alan Schoolcraft removed incumbent John Kuempel from Texas HD 44 by pulling in 56 percent of the vote.
3. Helen Kerwin removed incumbent DeWayne Burns in Texas HD 58 by collecting 58 percent of the vote.

The three THSC endorsed challengers above 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.

Other Notable Races

1. Trey Wharton won his race by pulling in 72 percent of the votes to become the new Representative for HD 12.
2. A win for an open seat was captured by A.J. Louderback who will now represent Texas for HD 30 after securing over 55 percent of the vote.
3. Homeschool mom Keresa Richardson will replace Frederick Frazier in Texas HD 61.
4. Homeschool dad Andy Hopper defeated incumbent Lynn Stucky in Texas HD 64.
5. Craig Goldman earned 45 percent of the vote and secured the nomination for Congressional District 12.
6. Brent Hagenbuch won the nomination to be the next Senator in SD 30 with 57% of the vote.

And The Most Anticipated Race Of The Evening

The entire state was watching homeschool graduate David Covey’s attempt to unseat Speaker of the House Dade Phelan last night. Ultimately, Speaker Phelan won reelection by less than 1% of the vote. Let’s be clear about the significance of such a race. No speaker of the Texas House has ever been forced into a runoff in 50 years.

In the March Primary, Covey ended with 46% of the vote compared to Phelan’s 43%. In the Runoff, Dade Phelan won capturing 50.7% of the vote. Even in victory, the results of this race represent a shockwave that will carry major implications for the Texas House, which will have to choose whether Phelan remains as Speaker come January 2025.

You Can’t Win Them All

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

1. Homeschool mom and parental rights champion Rep. Stephanie Klick lost her seat in Texas HD 91.
2. Homeschool dad Chris Spender lost to incumbent Gary VanDeaver for Texas House District 1.
3. Alex Kamkar lost his race for Texas HD 29. This was an open seat.
4. Cheryl Bean lost her race for the open seat in Texas HD 97. This was an open seat as well.
5. Jamie Kolhmann lost by less than 1 percent to the incumbent for State Board of Education District 12.

Who Are The Lonely 7 From The Infamous 21?

1. Gary VanDeaver from Texas HD 1
2. Keith Bell from Texas HD 4
3. Jay Dean from Texas HD 7
4. Stan Lambert from Texas HD 71
5. Drew Darby from Texas HD 72
6. Ken King from Texas HD 88
7. Charlie Geren from Texas HD 99

So Now What Does the Future Hold?

THSC has a program open to homeschool graduates to come and live and work full-time in Austin during each session to protect the rights of the homeschool community and Texas families. These legislative watch dogs are called Watchmen and year after year, your THSC Policy Team and the THSC Watchmen labor fearlessly to move pro-family priorities through the legislature.

This 2024 Runoff has shown us how effective homeschool families can be at the polls. And now, please pray with us that the momentum of THSC’s endorsed candidates will propel the most pro-family and pro-homeschooling candidates to ultimate victory in the November elections and produce the most successful legislative session ever for families in 2025. The Republican Primary Runoff winners will face Democrat challengers in the November General Election.

There is still work left to be done AND YET, we mustn’t overlook these wins right now. It is time for a victory lap. We are thankful for what we believe is a changing of the guards for families now and for generations to come.

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

For a full list of our 2023-2024 endorsements, please click here.
To learn more about the 2025 Watchmen Program or to apply, please click here.