DeAngelis: School Choice and Texas House Races
HD 55 Rep. Shine Illustrates Myth of “Rural Legislator"
Ahead of the March 5 primary, Corey DeAngelis, American Federation for Children senior fellow, joined Fox & Friends Weekend host Will Cain to discuss the Texas House of Representative races in which school choice has become a focal issue (click image below).
“The vast majority of these guys were previously endorsed by the state affiliate of the NEA, the largest teacher’s union in the county, so this excuse about being in rural areas is just that - it’s them trying to have their cake and eat it too,” DeAngelis said of the 16 embattled incumbents. “Other states that have much more rural areas like West Virginia already have universal school choice so this is just an excuse.”
The fallacy of this “rural Texas legislator” positioning is well illustrated with House District 55 Rep. Hugh Shine, R-Temple and one of the 16 anti-school choice incumbents. HD 55 is in Bell County, one of those areas sometimes termed “rural” during this primary season.
Of Texas’ 254 counties, it is #62 in terms of land area and #15 in terms of population with 372,821 residents as per the 2022 American Community Survey. The most recent census noted Bell County as a growth area. Killeen, located in the western part of the county, was even recently ranked the “most affordable, fastest-growing city in the U.S.” by Business Insider. None of this suggests a rural county profile.
DeAngelis further predicted:
This is a conservative GOP litmus test issue and this is partially why these 16 RINOs have challengers who all support school choice. The challengers are backed by Greg Abbott, Ted Cruz, Donald Trump, even Attorney General Ken Paxton. We’re all rowing the same direction here, the wind is at our backs. I think a lot of these guys are going to lose their seats either in the election on Tuesday or in a runoff later on because this is a huge priority of Republican primary voters.
Polls are open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday. Check your local county website for polling locations.
Lou Ann Anderson is a writer, former radio producer and current podcaster at Political Pursuits. Her tenure as Watchdog Wire–Texas editor involved covering state news and coordinating the site’s citizen journalist network. As a past Policy Analyst with Americans for Prosperity–Texas, Lou Ann wrote and spoke on a variety of issues including the growing issue of probate abuse in which wills, trusts, guardianships and powers of attorney are used to loot assets from intended heirs or beneficiaries. She holds a degree from the University of North Texas in Denton.