Nearly every state legislative incumbent was poised to win their primary on Tuesday, in a stark change from the conservative bloodletting rendered in the Texas House two years ago.
Two years ago, intraparty warfare resulted in a massive scrambling on the GOP side, but Tuesday’s election results — which suggested at least three incumbents would be ousted — showed that some divisions remain in the majority party while highlighting the departures of Democrats who sought higher office.
The most expensive state House primaries this cycle were proxy wars over issues including legalizing casinos, tort reform and a lingering battle between establishment Republicans and more hardline conservatives.
The major factions included candidates backed by Miriam Adelson, owner of the Las Vegas Sands casino empire, against gambling opponents backed by hardline oil billionaire Tim Dunn; and candidates backed by Texans for Lawsuit Reform, a Republican fundraising juggernaut that has pushed to make it harder for injury victims to sue, against opponents funded by trial lawyers and medical PACs.
Republican Rep. Cecil Bell Jr. of Magnolia lost to retired real estate and commercial photographer Kristen Plaisance, whom Dunn backed. And as of Wednesday morning, Stan Kitzman of Pattison was trailing retired Air Force fighter pilot and former Flatonia Mayor Dennis “Goose” Geesaman, who was also backed by Dunn.
But Dunn’s efforts to oust Rep. Ken King, R-Canadian, and Angelia Orr, R-Itasca, appear to have fallen short.
Texans for Lawsuit Reform notched three losses in their bids to oust incumbents who last year resisted its proposed medical malpractice caps: Reps. Marc LaHood, R-San Antonio; Mark Dorazio, R-San Antonio; and Andy Hopper, R- Decatur.
In another blow, Keller Mayor Armin Mizani is poised to defeat businessman Fred Tate in the race to succeed retiring state Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, R-Southlake. Mizani, who challenged Capriglione for the seat in 2018, overcame millions from TLR PAC in the Tarrant County district, the most expensive open race of the state House. Cheryl Bean, who lost in the runoffs in 2024, will either defeat or head to another runoff against a TLR candidate. And in a Democratic-held Rio Grande Valley district that President Donald Trump carried, TLR’s chosen candidate finished in third.
TLR, a leader in Texas Republican for more than 30 years, hoped to regain its foothold in the House after suffering its least successful legislative year in recent memory.
The casino groups also failed to pick off all four of the Abbott-backed incumbents they had targeted, including Reps. Terri Leo-Wilson, R-Galveston, David Lowe, R-North Richland Hills.
On the Democratic side, Rep. Chris Turner of Grand Prairie, a former House Democratic leader who has served more than a decade, was on track to lose to Grand Prairie City Council member Junior Ezeonu in a shocking upset.
In Houston, longtime Democratic state Reps. Harold Dutton and Hubert Vo faced primary challengers backed by the Texas AFL-CIO. Dutton appeared on track to secure the nomination while Alief ISD Board President Darlene Breaux likely forced Vo into a runoff.
In the state Senate, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s grip looked strong, as two of the candidates he endorsed in open races with competitors won by significant margins early Wednesday: Brett Ligon, to represent a Conroe-area district and David Cook, to represent a district southwest of Dallas.
Meanwhile, in a third contested open race, state Rep. Trent Ashby, R-Lufkin, fended off former Texas GOP executive committee member Rhonda Ward, whose campaign was almost completely funded by a $2 million donation from a conservative East Texas businessman aligned with the Texas secession movement. Although Patrick did not grant either of the candidates his coveted endorsement, he congratulated Ashby on Tuesday night.
Regardless of outcomes in November, the statehouse is set to have more than 20 new lawmakers in the lower chamber when the Legislature convenes in 2027 due to incumbent state representatives seeking other elected positions or retiring.
Among the departing representatives are some of the Democrats’ most effective fighters: Reps. James Talarico, who won the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate; Gina Hinojosa, who is running for governor; Vikki Goodwin, who is running for lieutenant governor; and Jon Rosenthal, who is running for a seat on the Texas Railroad Commission.
Those outgoing members leave a void of experience in the Travis County delegation in particular — as Talarico, Hinojosa and Goodwin all hail from Austin. However, their likely successors are candidates familiar with the political process.
Goodwin’s chief of staff, Pooja Sethi, won the Democratic nod for her seat. Samantha Lopez-Resendez, a recent chief of staff to Austin state Rep. Donna Howard, is close to winning outright in a crowded primary for Talarico’s seat. Former Assistant Deputy Secretary of Education Montserrat Garibay and former Austin City Council member Kathie Tovo are headed to a runoff for Hinojosa’s seat.
The general election will be on Nov. 3, when Democrats hope that a competitive U.S. Senate race will boost their candidates throughout the Legislature.
This article first appeared on The Texas Tribune.
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