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Progressive-backed candidates flipped three school board seats in a district near Houston, Texas, as Democrats flipped seats across the country Tuesday night. Mike Doyle, chair of the Harris County Democrats, told Newsweek in a phone interview that the wins in a red-leaning, suburban area are a testament to “a lot of hard work” by candidates and their supporters. Newsweek reached out to the Harris County GOP for comment via email. Why It Matters Tuesday’s elections were a key bellwether for the electorate’s mood ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, when Democrats are hoping to stage a comeback following losses in the 2024 elections. The results fueled Democratic optimism after a year of uncertainty about the party’s future, with Democrats outperforming expectations in key races. Those victories extended to suburban Texas. The Lone Star State has been viewed as a reliably conservative state. Democrats did make some gains in the first Trump administration, but it shifted back toward Republicans last November. Still, Democrats are hoping to make the state’s Senate race competitive next November. Voters cast their ballots in El Paso, Texas on November 3, 2020. Public education has remained a divisive issue in Texas as some state legislators have supported bills that would infuse religion into schools, including by requiring the Ten Commandments to be displayed in classrooms across the state. What to Know Three candidates who have identified as being more progressive flipped seats on the Cypress-Fairbanks ISD school board, reported local news outlet Houston Press. Lesley Guilmart, Cleveland Lane Jr. and Kendra Camarena all defeated Republican-aligned candidates in the race, the news outlet reported. That is the third-largest school district in the state Technically, the board is nonpartisan, but Guilmart, Lane and Camarena have all voted in Democratic primaries, while their opponents were viewed as more conservative. They have said they would keep their personal politics off of the school board due to its nonpartisan nature, the news outlet reported. Conservatives previously held a 6-1 majority on the school board, but will now be in a 4-3 minority, reported Houston Public Media. They have implemented policies including book-banning practices and adding a Bible-focus elective course for students, according to the report. The races became competitive as voters saw “Republican ideologues fully revealed themselves,” Doyle told Newsweek. The race, despite the nonpartisan nature of the board, had become partisan, he said. “They were focused on banning books and running off good teachers and cutting school budgets, and pretty much ripping into the fabric of the school system out there,” he said. Their defeat comes amid a broader debate about religion in schools, of which Texas has found itself the center after lawmakers passed a bill that required schools to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms. In August, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican, issued a statement directing schools to abide by the order. “The woke radicals seeking to erase our nation’s history will be defeated. I will not back down from defending the virtues and values that built this country,” he said in a statement at the time. What People Are Saying School Board Trustee-elect Lesley Guilmart wrote in a Facebook post: “’Im so proud of us, and I am deeply grateful. We came together across lines of difference, from across the political spectrum to do right by our children. Every student and staff member deserves to thrive in our district, and Cleveland4CFISD, Kendra 4 CFISD, and I will fight for just that.” Zeph Capo, president of Texas American Federation of Teachers (AFT) wrote in a statement: “While there’s more work to do to make this board representative of the community and responsive to its needs, this victory turns the page on a dark chapter in this district’s history. The trustees defeated last night routinely pushed the school board into a hard right turn to the extremist fringe, and voters said enough.” What Happens Next Republicans will continue to grapple with losses during Tuesday night’s elections. Democrats performed well across the country, including in high-profile contests like the New Jersey and Virginia gubernatorial races. Victories also extended into states like Georgia and Mississippi.
