In the Texas Legislature, Northeast Texas Republicans cruised to victory last night. Some races were uncontested. In Texas House District 2, which includes Hunt and Hopkins counties, Republican Brent Money defeated Democrat Kristen Washington. In District 62, representing Fannin and Delta counties, Republican Shelley Luther was victorious over Democrat Tiffany Drake.
Several GOP candidates ran unopposed, including House District 1’s incumbent Gary VanDeaver, representing far northeast Texas; District 5’s incumbent Cole Hefner, representing areas north of Tyler, and District 33’s Katrina Pierson, the new legislator representing Rockwall County.
In northeastern suburban DFW, Republican Jeff Leach defeated Democrat Makala Washington in House District 67, representing northeastern Collin County; Republican Candy Noble outpaced Democrat Darrel Evans in District 89, representing southeastern Collin County. And in Kaufman County, incumbent Republican Keith Bell bested Democrat Alex Bar-Sela in the race for District 4.
In the Texas Senate, Republican incumbent Angela Paxton defeated Democrat Rachel Mello in the race for District 8, which includes Hunt, Rains and most of Collin County. Other Senate seats were not up for grabs this year – Republicans Bryan Hughes of Senate District 1 and Bob Hall of Senate District 2 are in the middle of their terms.
In Texas State Board of Education races, in District 12, incumbent Republican Pam Little defeated Democrat George King. That district includes most of Northeast Texas.
