Democrats elected a slate of candidates with public education backgrounds in Texas this year, according to Houston Public Media. Gina Hinojosa, the Democratic nominee for governor, is a former Austin ISD school board president. U.S. Senate nominee James Talarico is a former middle school teacher. Democrats also fielded many teachers, school board members and education-focused candidates for other offices.
Democrats are on track to flip the Texas House. Katherine Fischer, executive director of Texas Majority PAC, said vouchers will likely be a major topic in the next legislative session. Texas GOP leaders have expanded school property tax exemptions for seniors and have promised to eliminate school property taxes in the upcoming session.
Voters in several local school districts rejected bonds and tax rate increases. Melina Espiritu-Azocar, president of Northside AFT, said she was disappointed that four Northside ISD tax measures failed. She said the election of Hinojosa and a new Legislature gave her renewed hope. The district has about 96,000 students.