In the end, Leo Wilson didn’t have to wait long as she pulled away from opponent Patrick Gurski relatively early on in the night.
“I had a ground swell of support in this campaign, and I am very grateful to many citizens of HD 23 for their vote of confidence,” Leo Wilson told The Texan in a statement. “I will continue to fight hard against rising property taxes, an unsecured border, educational excellence for all children, and the issues that are important to our coastal communities. We are looking forward to working hard to win the support of all constituents in HD 23 in the November election.”
Middleton, who endorsed Leo Wilson, celebrated the victory saying, “Congrats Terri Leo Wilson on your decisive win, the grassroots and conservatism won big! Terri will be an outstanding member of the Texas House, I’m proud to have her take my place for HD 23!”
Leo Wilson also had the support of Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), former Governor Rick Perry, and a slew of grassroots conservative organizations.
Meanwhile, Gurski was endorsed by Governor Greg Abbott along with various law enforcement organizations and figures.
Leo Wilson won both early vote and election day returns, winning by a comfortable 16 percent.
The coastal district is heavily Republican, made into an R-61% rating after redistricting per The Texan’s Texas Partisan Index.
She will face Democrat Keith Henry in the November general that should hardly present much of a fight.
In the legislature, Leo Wilson has said her top two issues will be border security and property taxes — the latter of which includes support for the Texas Public Policy Foundation’s plan to buy down school district Maintenance & Operations tax rates over 10 years until that component is eliminated.
Leo Wilson has also indicated she supports school choice and a school voucher system specifically — an issue that is rapidly ascending in prominence. Each of those issues is primed for heavy discussion when the body reconvenes next year.
Editor’s Note: This article has been updated to include a statement from Leo Wilson.
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Brad Johnson
Brad Johnson is a senior reporter for The Texan and an Ohio native who graduated from the University of Cincinnati in 2017. He is an avid sports fan who most enjoys watching his favorite teams continue their title drought throughout his cognizant lifetime. In his free time, you may find Brad quoting Monty Python productions and trying to calculate the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow.
