Reps. Travis Clardy, R-Nacogdoches, and Jay Dean, R-Longview, were both among the 21 Texas House of Representatives who voted against school voucher legislation in November.
However, one of them came out of Tuesday's election victorious and another was defeated by a pro-school voucher challenger.
According to the Texas Tribune, nine incumbent Republicans who opposed vouchers in the House during the 2023 legislative sessions were defeated in the Republican primary after Gov. Greg Abbott threw his support toward their opponents.
The Tribune noted more Republicans could fall in the May runoffs, placing Abbott's signature priority in range in 2025.
One of those defeats was Clardy against his challenger, Joanne Shofner.
Shofner, who received Abbott's endorsement, won the House District 11 race with 63% of the vote. There is no Democratic challenger in November.
Clardy has been in the House District 11 seat since 2013. He is a small business owner and attorney. Shofner is the president of Nacogdoches County Republican Women. Shofner is a trained Christian life coach who seeks to empower women in recovery from traumatic experiences.
Dean defeated his two challengers, businessman Joe McDaniel and caregiver Bonnie Walters. He won with 72% of the vote. He will face Democratic challenger Marlena R. Cooper in November.
Dean has served in the role since 2017. Before becoming a representative, Dean was the mayor of Longview for a decade and on the Longview City Council for five years prior to that.
Both of his challengers said they supported school choice legislation. Walters showed support for a voucher system and McDaniel was unsure if a voucher-like proposal would be the way, according to the Longview News-Journal.