State Rep. Shawn Thierry lost to primary challenger Lauren Ashley Simmons in Tuesday’s Democratic primary runoff after voting on several bills that targeted the LGBTQ+ community.
According to the Associated Press, Simmons defeated Thierry with about 30 percentage points.
“We did it, y’all,” Simmons said in her victory speech. She told her supporters that she “wanted to be a clear example of what you can do when you have the power of the people behind you.”
Simmons, 36, is a labor organizer and a mother. She led Thierry in the March primary, and she narrowly missed defeating her outright by less than 100 votes.
Thierry was targeted by fellow Democrats after she joined Republicans in voting for a bill to ban gender transition care for minors and a bill to remove sexually explicit books from school libraries. She also voted for a bill requiring transgender college athletes to play with people of the same sex assigned to them at birth.
Thierry maintained that her votes reflected the inclination of her constituents.
Thierry also received backlash when she described Simmon’s supporters as “the gay ones,” according to the Houston Chronicle. After the quote, Simmons said her campaign received a major boost in fundraising.
According to The Texas Tribune, Thierry’s campaign was significantly founded by GOP donors and groups advocating for charter schools and school vouchers.
Simmons said her campaign overcame “big Republican money” and “corporate PACs” backing Thierry.
Thierry was seeking a fifth term in the House District 146, a district that covers part of south and southwest Houston and also stretches from Westwood. To Sunnyside. It has primarily Black and Hispanic voters and leans heavily democratic, with a Texas Partisan Index of D-79%.
“Tonight, District 146 is back in the hands of the people,” Simmons said.
Now, Simmons will face Republican Lance York in the November general election.
