Texas

9 North Texas seats in the state House will have new faces after Election Day

Published

1 year ago

October 29, 2024

9 North Texas seats in the state House will have new faces after Election Day

Thanks to a wave of retirements and primary election defeats, nine North Texas seats in the state House will be filled by newcomers after the Nov. 5 election.

Four candidates are running unopposed. The other winners will be determined on Election Day.

The local races without a House incumbent are:

Katrina Pierson, Republican: Pierson is running unopposed and will be the next lawmaker for a district that includes all of Rockwall County and a portion of Collin County. Pierson defeated Rep. Justin Holland, R-Rockwall, in the May 28 primary runoff election, 56% to 44%.

A former national spokesperson for Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, Pierson ran as a candidate who would reform the Texas House and opposes Democrats serving as chairs of legislative committees. She supports Rep. David Cook, R-Mansfield to replace Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, as House speaker.

Tony Adams, Democrat: Adams, a small-business owner in Collin County, is running on unifying and working collaboratively with Republican lawmakers. Adams opposes sending public tax dollars to private schools and wants stronger gun laws in Texas. He also opposes Texas’ near-total ban on abortion. Adams faces an uphill battle in a solidly Republican district that includes parts of McKinney and Frisco.

Keresa Richardson, Republican: Richardson, CEO of the Lawton Group, defeated Rep. Frederick Frazier, R-McKinney, in the May primary runoff 68% to 32%. Richardson challenged Frazier’s conservative credentials and received Ken Paxton’s support after Frazier voted to impeach the attorney general. Richardson said working with Democratic lawmakers gave the minority party too much influence and watered down Republican priorities. She supports creating a school voucher program and a Texas Border Unit to enforce immigration laws, and she believes the state constitution should be amended to require proof of citizenship before an individual can register to vote.

Angela Brewer, Democrat: Brewer, an adjunct professor at the University of North Texas, ran an unsuccessful campaign against Rep. Lynn Stucky, R-Denton, in 2020, losing by 10 points. Brewer told KERA News that Gov. Greg Abbott’s push to allow school vouchers was one of her big motivations to run and said she is “100% committed against” school choice. Her other key legislative issue is protecting abortion access, promising to file a bill repealing the state’s abortion ban.

Andy Hopper, Republican: Hopper, an engineer and chief warrant officer for the Texas State Guard, defeated Stucky in the May primary runoff by 12 points, receiving the support of Paxton. He signed the “Contract with Texas,” a pledge to support conservative priorities, including a ban on Democratic committee chairs and term limits for House speaker. He supports school choice and believes the Legislature should make it a crime to travel out of state for an abortion.

Detrick DeBurr, Democrat: DeBurr, a software engineer and planning and zoning commissioner for The Colony, is running because he believes the district, which cuts east to west across Denton County, has seen tremendous growth and by serving as commissioner, he understands what priorities are needed. DeBurr describes himself as “very conservative, yet thoughtful and compassionate.” His legislative priorities include increasing public school funding and expanding Medicaid in Texas.

Mitch Little, Republican: Little was an impeachment lawyer for Paxton during last year’s Senate trial. He defeated Rep. Kronda Thimesch, R-Lewisville, in the March primary. His campaign priorities include election integrity, reducing property taxes, securing the U.S.-Mexico border and reforming the House, saying change is needed to advance conservative priorities.

David Lowe, Republican: Lowe is running unopposed after defeating Rep. Stephanie Klick, R-Fort Worth, in the May 28 runoff, despite Klick having Abbott’s backing and serving as chair of the Public Health Committee. Lowe, an Army veteran, criticized Klick from the right, including her vote to impeach Paxton. Lowe was endorsed by Paxton and supports eliminating property taxes, opposes red flag gun safety laws and wants to eliminate in-state college tuition for undocumented migrants.

Carlos Walker, Democrat: Walker, director of Fort Worth ISD’s Family Action Center, lists four priority issues on his campaign website: public education, property tax relief, women’s rights and support for farmers. The Republican-leaning district includes western Tarrant County.

John McQueeney, Republican: McQueeney, the CEO of Vision Companies, lists his priorities as border security, increasing school funding, passing school choice, helping foster business growth and protecting the First Amendment. The district is currently represented by Rep. Craig Goldman, R-Fort Worth, who is running for Congress.

Linda Garcia, Democrat: Garcia, an entrepreneur and financial literacy educator, is running unopposed to replace Rep. Victoria Neave Criado, D-Dallas, who challenged Dallas Sen. Nathan Johnson in the Democratic primary but lost. Garcia wants to expand Medicaid, invest more in infrastructure and affordable housing, restore reproductive rights and increase funding for public schools.

Aicha Davis, Democrat: Davis is running unopposed to replace Rep. Carl Sherman, D-DeSoto, who was defeated in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate. Davis is a six-year member of the State Board of Education. She opposes universal school vouchers, believes teachers should get a pay raise and does not support legislative efforts to restrict access to books deemed inappropriate for children.

Cassandra Hernandez, Democrat: Hernandez is seeking to replace Rep. Julie Johnson, D-Farmers Branch, who is running for Congress. Hernandez, an attorney, lists gun violence reform as a key issue. Her campaign website says she lost her father to gun violence. Other priorities include expanding Medicaid, cutting property taxes and addressing the fentanyl crisis.

John Jun, Republican: Jun, a Navy veteran and attorney, is a former member and mayor pro tem of the Coppell City Council. He opposes school vouchers and would increase school funding. Other legislative priorities include cutting taxes and supporting small businesses by limiting regulations.

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Texas

Look: Texas A&M coach Mike Elko snips in press conference after Texas trolls

Published

1 hour ago

November 29, 2025

Press Room

Look: Texas A&M coach Mike Elko snips in press conference after Texas trolls

Texas football welcomed Mike Elko to his terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day on Black Friday.

As the Longhorns took the final kneels to secure a 27-17 win over Texas A&M to knock the Aggies out of the land of unbeaten college football teams, the video board at DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas trolled Elko.

Texas played a short clip of Elko calling Texas A&M “the flagship program of the state” last year, with a voiceover saying “Sike” about his comments. That was met by loud cheers from the fans as Texas earned the win.

It only got worse for Elko from there. Following the loss, he lost his cool during his press conference over the noise of the Longhorns celebrating their win over the Aggies.

The loss for Texas A&M knocked to rival Texas knocked it out of the SEC Championship game.

“Can we close the door and run a professional press conference?” Elko asked mid-answer.

The good news for Elko and the Aggies: They closed out the season with an 11-1 record, including a 7-1 record in SEC play. Texas A&M has secured a spot in the College Football Playoff and, barring a major upset, should at least have a home first-round game, if not a bye in the opening round.

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How to Watch Temple vs North Texas: Live Stream NCAA College Football, TV Channel

Published

19 hours ago

November 28, 2025

Press Room

The North Texas Mean Green (10-1) looks for a program-record 11th win and a spot in the American championship game on Friday afternoon when they host a Temple Owls (5-6) squad still trying to become bowl eligible after three straight losses.

How to Watch Temple vs North Texas

When: Friday, November 28, 2025
Time: 3:30 PM ET
TV Channel: ESPN
Live Stream: Fubo (try for free)

North Texas won its fifth straight game on Saturday night, rolling to a 56-24 road victory at Rice after erasing an early 14-0 deficit. Drew Mestemaker threw for 469 yards, finishing 19-of-23 with three touchdowns, and also ran for a score. Caleb Hawkins ran for 97 yards and three TDs on 20 carries, and Ashton Gray also had a rushing touchdown. Wyatt Young had a huge night with eight catches for 295 yards and two scores, and Tre Williams III caught a TD pass.

Temple’s slide continued on Saturday with a 37-13 loss to visiting Tulane. Evan Simon threw for 168 yards and two touchdowns, but the running game was limited to just 20 yards. Colin Chase and Peter Clarke made scoring catches in the loss. Simon absorbed four sacks before he was pulled from the game.

Eric Morris was announced on Tuesday as the new head coach at Oklahoma State and will leave North Texas at the end of the season. The Mean Green haven’t won a conference title since the 2004 Sun Belt championship and have a simple win-and-in scenario to reach the American championship game. They are 2-0 all-time against Temple, including a 24-17 road win on Nov. 30.

This is a great college football matchup that you will not want to miss; make sure to tune in and catch all the action.

Live stream Temple vs North Texas on Fubo: Start your subscription now!

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Guidelines for Texas’ controversial school voucher program released

Published

2 days ago

November 27, 2025

Press Room

Guidelines for Texas’ controversial school voucher program released

TEXAS (KTRK) — The State Comptroller’s Office has released guidelines for the Texas Education Freedom Accounts. This program is also referred to as school choice or school vouchers, and has stirred up controversy.

It’s funded through $1B taxpayer dollars, and while proponents say it gives families the choice to pick the best education for their child, critics have said it takes money away from already underfunded and struggling public school systems.

This program is open to students in pre-K through high school. Standard students who wish to attend a state-approved private school can receive approximately $10,800 per child, per year.

Students with disabilities or additional learning needs must have their individual education program, or IEP, on file with the school district to be eligible for up to $30,000 per student, per year

And homeschooled children can get up to $2,000 per child, per year.

SEE ALSO: Private school vouchers are now law in Texas. Here’s how they will work

State law dictates that priority will be given to children who have siblings already in the program and based on income and the federal poverty line. If more students enroll than funding allows, a lottery will be instituted.

Eyewitness News previously reported that the funds would probably fund around 90,000 students, even though the Texas Education Agency estimated in 2024 that over 5 million school-aged children live in Texas.

The first important enrollment date comes for private schools and vendors who want to accept voucher students, and is part of the one billion dollars the state is pouring into it. The State Comptroller’s office says schools and vendors can start signing on through Odyssey on Dec. 9. Odyssey is the company the state selected to run the voucher lottery and operate a platform that allows families to spend the money awarded to them by the state.

The second important date comes for families, which is Feb. 4. That’s when families can start signing up students. The State Comptroller said this gives the state and families ample time to make decisions ahead of the 2026-27 school year

The State Comptroller said schools that wish to apply for the program must have a Texas location and have been accredited for at least two years, but this applies to schools both in and outside of Texas, so in theory, a program accredited outside of Texas could build a campus in the state this year and still be eligible.

SEE ALSO: ABC13 obtains exclusive HISD student enrollment records for 2025-26 school year

The state is also dictating that private schools wishing to be a part of the program will have to administer an assessment to voucher students in grades 3 through 12

The program will be monitored by the State Comptroller’s office, which will partner with a private group to audit the program at least once a year.

State education groups pushed the state to be more transparent about how families were spending money and where, though our partners at the Houston Chronicle note the state rejected those ideas.

For more news updates, follow Lileana Pearson on Facebook, X and Instagram.

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