House Texas House District One Race

The race for Texas House District One (HD1) is heating up as the candidate count for the position rises to four. Republican State Representative Gary VanDeaver has held the position since 2015 and is running for reelection in what will likely be a hotly contested and expensive race which is emblematic of the schism that currently divides the Republican Party of Texas.

Representative VanDeaver, who is a retired public school superintendent vehemently defended public schools and was an outspoken advocate for improving public school employee and retiree pay last session. This position puts him at odds with Governor Abbott who has refused to take no for an answer about a school voucher program that has prompted the Governor to call four special sessions since the 88th regular legislative session in an attempt to pass. Those who support VanDeaver will point to delivery on other important red-meat Republican agenda items like banning men in women’s sports, banning gender modification in children, the state’s largest property tax break, as well as pro-life legislation to protect the unborn.

While VanDeaver voted for these statewide priorities supporters will also say he delivered locally. In particular, he forced the Texas Water Development Board to conduct a feasibility study to take a critical look at issues surrounding the controversial Marvin Nichols Reservoir. VanDeaver received 63% of the vote in the last election.

Another topic that puts VanDeaver at odds with some of his constituents was his vote to impeach Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton who was later acquitted by the Texas Senate. This was after a historic political trial that brought in Cass County native and Houston-based “super lawyer” Tony Buzbee to defend Texas’ top attorney in the impeachment trial. Whether VanDeaver’s position on Abbott’s school choice legislation coupled with his vote on Paxton makes him vulnerable to those who seek to unseat him remains to be seen.

HD1 will not be a competitive race for the Republican nominee in the November general election as it is unlikely any Democrat candidate will file before the December 11th deadline. However, the Republican Primary election will determine who will represent the counties of Bowie, Cass, Lamar, Morris, and Red River Counties in the Texas State Legislature for the next two years. The race for HD1 will undoubtedly bring in outside money from political action committees with special interests who are supporting candidates against incumbents like VanDeaver all over the state.

Rep. Gary VanDeaver was raised in Red River County on a small family cattle ranch near Clarksville. His professional life began as a vocational agriculture teacher. After a career in education which culminated with a Doctorate of Educational Administration, he retired as a Superintendent of Schools in New Boston. Gary and his wife Pam have been married for over 38 years and attend First Baptist Church in New Boston where he serves as a deacon and teaches adult Sunday school. He is a member of the National Rifle Association (NRA) and previously served as President of the New Boston Lions Club and New Boston Chamber of Commerce. He currently serves on the Future Farmers of America (FFA) Foundation Board and has served on the Board of Directors for Red River County Farm Bureau.

David Huls announced his intention to run for HD1 earlier this year. He served as a Republican Party Precinct Chair in Harris County and recently ran for the Senate Republican Executive Committee (SREC) covering Senate District 1 where he lost to Hopkins County Republican Party Chairman Donnie Wisenbaker.

Huls is an Airforce Veteran and former military contractor who worked at NASA’s Johnson Space Center for over 20 years in Houston. Huls first became politically active during the Tea Party movement and has remained active in grassroots politics since. Huls has been endorsed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton as well as several other conservative activists. Dale and his wife Mary have been married for 17 years and attend First Baptist Church of DeKalb.

Scott Hommell is also vying for the coveted seat in the Texas House and announced his candidacy last July. While Hommell is not a native Texan, he currently lives in Lamar County where he serves as the current Lamar County Republican Party Chairman. Hommel’s website claims that Texas is under attack by globalists and leftist Marxists. Although his website outlines some standard Republican redmeat issues like border security it also offers several unique propositions like his intention to eliminate non-partisan elections for School Boards and City Council members and eliminate mid-season (May) elections altogether.

Chris Spencer is the latest candidate to enter the race for HD1. He officially filed for office at the Republican Party of Texas Headquarters on Friday. Spencer was born in Morris County and currently resides in Hughes Springs. He currently serves as Chairman of the Sulphur River Basin Authority (SRBA). Spencer attended the University of Texas at Tyler and is president and CEO of Crump Foods. Chris and his wife Debbie attend First Baptist Church in Mount Pleasant, Texas.

In the months leading up to his filing for office, he has been publishing an article entitled, “Straight Talk with Chris Spencer” which covers a range of issues from state to federal politics in what some would call a hard right position. Governor Gregg Abbott has predictably endorsed Spencer against VanDeaver, a similar trend with others who opposed Abbott’s school choice legislative priority.

With only four months to campaign in the Republican primary, this race will be a sprint. Voter mailboxes will soon be the recipient of mass mailers that promote some candidates and excoriate others. Dissatisfaction with “the government” overall seems to be as common as complaining about the weather in Texas. The difference however is that Texas weather changes a lot faster than Texas politics. That growing dissatisfaction may not translate to a majority of voters in HD1 abandoning their five-term incumbent who has delivered on a laundry list of conservative priorities over the last five terms.