Republican voters successfully unseated several moderate Republican incumbents during the 2024 March primary election and the May runoff election.
Texas House
In the Texas House of Representatives, 15 incumbents were unseated. Nine challengers were victorious in the March 5 primary election outright, and an additional six won during the primary runoff election on May 28.
Brent Money will represent House District 2, which encompasses Hopkins, Hunt, and Van Zandt counties in northeast Texas. He was endorsed by both Gov. Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton and beat State Rep. Jill Dutton.
Dutton previously beat Money in a 2023 special election for the district vacated by former Rep. Bryan Slaton.
Mitch Little will represent HD 65, which covers a portion of Denton County in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. An attorney who served on Attorney General Ken Paxton’s impeachment defense team, Little received Paxton’s backing in his successful challenge to State Rep. Khronda Thimesch, who voted to impeach the attorney general.
Marc LaHood will represent HD 121, containing parts of northern Bexar County in San Antonio. On March 5, he defeated State Rep. Steve Allison. Due to Allison’s opposition to school choice and vote to impeach Paxton, Gov. Greg Abbott and Paxton both supported LaHood.
Joanne Shofner will represent HD 11, which encompasses all of Nacogdoches, Newton, Panola, Rusk, Sabine, and Shelby counties. Shofner beat State Rep. Travis Clardy in the primary and had the backing of Abbott due to Clardy’s vote against school choice.
Janis Holt will represent HD 18, which encompasses San Jacinto, Liberty, and Hardin counties in East Texas. Holt beat State Rep. Ernest Bailes in the primaries and had the backing of Abbott and Paxton after Bailes’ anti-school choice and pro-impeachment votes.
Matt Morgan will represent HD 26, which is wholly within Fort Bend County. Morgan beat State Rep. Jacey Jetton during the primaries. He had the support of Paxton due to Jetton’s vote to impeach the attorney general.
Hillary Hickland will represent HD 55, which contains parts of Bell County. Hickland beat State Rep. Hugh Shine, who drew the ire of Abbott and Paxton for voting against school choice and for Paxton’s impeachment.
Mike Olcott will represent HD 60, which contains the entirety of Palo Pinto, Parker, and Stephens counties. He beat State Rep. Glenn Rogers in the primaries and was endorsed by Abbott and Paxton due to Rogers’ votes against school choice and in favor of impeaching the attorney general.
Shelley Luther will represent HD 62, which consists of Grayson, Franklin, Fannin, and Delta counties. Luther beat State Rep. Reggie Smith during the primaries. She had Abbott and Paxton’s support because of Smith’s anti-school choice and pro-impeachment votes.
Katrina Pierson, former national spokesperson for Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, will represent HD 33—a district that includes Rockwall County and a portion of southern Collin County.
Pierson beat State. Rep. Justin Holland on May 28 and had the backing of Abbott and Paxton due to Holland’s vote against school choice and his vote to impeach the attorney general.
Alan Schoolcraft will represent HD 44, which covers the counties of Gonzales and Guadalupe. He beat State Rep. John Kuempel during the runoff and was endorsed by Abbott and Paxton.
Helen Kerwin will represent HD 58, which contains all of Johnson and Somervell counties. She beat State Rep. DeWayne Burns during the runoff and had the backing of Abbott and Paxton due to Burns’ votes against school choice and for impeachment.
Keresa Richardson will represent HD 61, which contains a portion of Collin County in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. Richardson beat State Rep. Frederick Frazier during the runoffs and had the endorsement of Paxton.
Andy Hopper will represent HD 64, covering all of Wise County and the northwest portion of Denton County. He was victorious over State Rep. Lynn Stucky during the runoffs and had the backing of Paxton, because Stucky voted to impeach the attorney general.
David Lowe will represent HD 91, which contains part of Tarrant County. He beat State Rep. Stephanie Klick during the runoffs and had the backing of Paxton due to Klick’s impeachment vote.
Court of Criminal Appeals
Primary endorsements by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton swept the state’s races for the Court of Criminal Appeals—a nine-judge body that is the decisive court on all criminal matters in the state.
Lawyer Gina Parker beat incumbent Judge Barbara Hervey in Place 7. David Schenck, previously a judge for Place 7 on the court, beat Sharon Keller for Place 1—the presiding judge role. In addition, Lee Finley beat incumbent Judge Michelle Slaughter in Place 8.
All three were backed by Paxton due to their opponents’ roles in a 2021 ruling that removed the attorney general’s power to prosecute election fraud. The court argued that the power primarily lay with local district attorneys.
Since the victories of Parker, Schenck, and Finley, State Rep. Terri Leo-Wilson (R-Galveston) has proposed a constitutional amendment to give the attorney general concurrent jurisdiction over election crimes.
