Texas Governor Greg Abbott has made education savings accounts, what some people call school vouchers, a priority this election season.

The vouchers, which are opposed by Democrats and some rural Republicans, would give families state money to pay for private schools.

Gov. Abbott has made passing education savings accounts a priority, actively campaigning against Republican candidates who oppose the legislation.

Abbott told FOX 4’s Steven Dial that he is “certain” that his plan will pass in the new session.

Six House incumbents lost back in the March primary.

That leaves Abbott two votes shy of the 76 needed to pass education savings accounts.

In Tuesday night’s runoff elections, there are four incumbents fighting to keep their seats in the Texas House.

Gary VanDeaver was the only incumbent of the four to finish first in the March election.

Texas House District 1: Gary VanDeaver (Incumbent) vs. Chris Spencer

Gary VanDeaver has served District 1 in the Texas House in 2015.

He is being challenged by businessman Chris Spencer.

District 1 represents Texarkana, New Boston and Paris.

Texas House District 33: Justin Holland (Incumbent) vs. Katrina Pierson

Justin Holland has served as the representative for District 33 since 2017.

His opponent is former Trump campaign spokeswoman Katrina Pierson.

District 33 is composed of several cities, including all of Rockwall County.

Texas House District 44: John Kuempel (Incumbent) vs. Alan Schoolcraft

John Kuempel was first sworn in to serve House District 44 in 2010.

He is facing a challenge from former Texas State Rep. Alan Schoolcraft, who served in the House from 1981 to 1993.

District 44 is made up of Guadalipe and Gonzales counties.

Texas House District 58: DeWayne Burns (Incumbent) vs. Helen Kerwin

Dwayne Burns has been a State House Rep. since 2014.

He is being challenged by former Glen Rose mayor and Somervell County commissioner Helen Kerwin.

District 58 includes Johnson County and Sommervell County, including Glen Rose.

Over 800,000 outages have been reported in Texas after severe storms swept through the state over Memorial Day weekend, with more on the way Tuesday.

At least 22 people were killed over the weekend from the storms as they moved through states in the central and southern U.S. The warm, moist air that’s fueled one of the most active recent years for tornadoes will linger over the southern Plains, bringing thunderstorms with damaging wind gusts and large hail to Texas on Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service.

The weather service said the clusters of storms are expected to dump heavy rain, triggering flash floods particularly in areas west of Dallas-Fort Worth and north of Austin, and scattered flooding and strong thunderstorms could extend from the Texas Panhandle to the western Gulf Coast.

Storms are expected to continue overnight, where they should move eastward and decrease in intensity.

Here’s where power outages have already been reported in Texas.

See photos: Severe storms over holiday weekend leave trail of disaster

Texas counties with large power outages on Tuesday

The majority of outages over the last 72 hours are around the Dallas-Fort Worth area, with another large number of outages around Houston, according to a power outage tracker from USA TODAY.

Here are the Texas counties with the largest number of outages as of Tuesday morning:

• Dallas County: Over 300,000 outages
• Harris County: Over 126,000 outages
• Collin County: over 94,000 outages
• Denton County: Over 66,000 outages
• Tarrant County: Over 52,000 outages
• Kaufman County: Over 40,000 outages

Texas power outages: See map

Contributing: Christopher Cann, USA TODAY.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas is out to save his job Tuesday in a GOP primary runoff that has put rifts within the party on display.

Gonzales, who has clashed with some of his hard-right colleagues in Washington and drawn a rebuke from the state party, is in a race against Brandon Herrera, a gun-rights YouTube creator with more than 3 million followers.

Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan also faces a tough challenge that could see him ousted from his powerful seat, upending the Republican-controlled Legislature. Phelan angered conservatives for leading the 2023 impeachment of state Attorney General Ken Paxton, who was later acquitted in a Senate trial and then set out to remove those who voted against him.

A Gonzales loss, his supporters warn, would give Democrats an opening to flip a traditionally moderate district in November, while a change in Texas House leadership could push the state’s policymaking even further right.

Here’s a look at the key primary runoffs in Texas:

A BIG BRAWL IN A BIG DISTRICT

Gonzales represents a sprawling district that spans some 800 miles (nearly 1,300 kilometers) of the Texas-Mexico border.

He was first elected in 2020 and easily won again in 2022, but the state Republican Party sanctioned him over a voting record that highlighted an independent streak. That included support for protecting same-sex marriage and for new gun-safety laws following the 2022 Uvalde school shooting, in his district, that left 21 people dead.

Gonzales has also clashed with some hard-right Republicans, calling them “scumbags.”

Herrera, a gun manufacturer and gun-rights activist, was second with nearly 25% of the vote in a five-way primary in March to force the runoff. Gonzales was first with 45%.

Gonzales has the support of some key Republicans who may be wary of ousting an incumbent from an ostensibly safe seat. U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson has attended a fundraiser for Gonzales, and Gov. Greg Abbott has endorsed him. Herrera’s support on the far right has included a campaign appearance with Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida.

The winner will face Democrat Santos Limon in November.

Only one other House incumbent has been defeated this year: Republican Rep. Jerry Carl of Alabama, who lost an unusual primary to Rep. Barry Moore after the state was forced to redraw congressional districts.

WHO RUNS THE TEXAS HOUSE?

Usually reelection would be a shoo-in for a speaker whose Republican majority passed some of the toughest anti-abortion laws in the country, vastly expanded gun rights, supported Abbott’s highly visible anti-immigration platforms and curtailed LGBTQ+ rights.

Yet Phelan was pushed into a runoff with oil and gas consultant David Covey. Not only that, Phelan came in second in the March primary, meaning he has ground to make up Tuesday. The winner will not have a Democratic challenger in November.

A Phelan loss would start a new round of campaigning for speakership, which is chosen from among the state House members.

TRUMP TIES

Katrina Pierson, a former spokeswoman for former President Donald Trump, is up against incumbent Justin Holland for his state House seat in the Dallas suburbs.

Holland was among House Republicans who voted to impeach Paxton. He also voted to raise the age for purchasing assault rifles from 18 to 21, and voted against Abbott’s plan to spend public education money on private schools.

CHALLENGING CUELLAR

Republicans are also deciding who will run in November against Henry Cuellar, a longtime Democratic congressman who along with his wife was indicted this spring on federal bribery, money laundering and fraud charges. He has said he is innocent; three associates have pleaded guilty in related investigations.

Jay Furman, a retired Navy veteran, and rancher and businessman Lazaro Garza, are vying for the nomination to challenge Cuellar in the South Texas district that he has held since 2005. Both have campaigned on tighter border security and immigration restrictions.

There’s another Cuellar on the ballot, too: Rosie Cuellar, his sister, faces Cecilia Castellano in the Democratic runoff for a South Texas state House seat. The March primary was held before Henry Cuellar was indicted, and it is unclear whether his legal troubles will impact her campaign.

The winner advances to the November general election against Republican Don McLaughlin, who was mayor of Uvalde when the school shooting happened.