The runoff elections for Texas House District 1 concluded on Tuesday night, marking a pivotal moment in a particularly intense election cycle. The heightened stakes were driven by the efforts of Governor Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton, whose influence pushed eight incumbents into runoff races.
Notably, Rep. Gary VanDeaver who won the runoff for HD 1 was a key target for Abbott’s voucher campaign, and managed to defeat Chris Spencer who was backed by Abbott. At the time this article was published, VanDeaver received 11,690 votes (53.5%) against Spencer, who received 10,163 votes (46.5%).
District 1 covers Bowie, Cass, Lamar, Morris, and Red River counties in northeast Texas.
In the primary election, VanDeaver received 46% of the vote, while Spencer got 43%.
Previously, both candidates acknowledged the contentious nature of the campaign, citing significant outside interference and negative tactics. VanDeaver, a retired educator with ten years in office, expressed frustration over the interference of outside influences.
“It has just been unbelievable the amount of outside interference that’s come in, the nastiness of that interference, just the untruthfulness of a lot of what has been put out. It has been very frustrating,” VanDeaver said.
Meanwhile, Spencer, a private businessman, attributed the negativity to third parties with vested interests.
“A very spirited, hard-fought campaign with the focus on the issues and not personalities,” Spencer said.
