Sam González Kelly, Alejandro Serrano:
Incumbents lost two of the four runoff elections for the Houston ISD board Saturday night, clearing the way for two new conservative trustees in the state’s largest public school district. The results mark the end of campaigns politicized by clashes over cultural talking points in what are traditionally viewed as nonpartisan races.
Pastor Kendall Baker beat Trustee Holly Maria Flynn Vilaseca by less than 100 votes to win the seat in District 6. In District 7, Trustee Anne Sung lost to former PTO President Bridget Wade.
Baker and Wade both garnered support from prominent Texas Republicans and spoke out in their campaigns against mask mandates and critical race theory in education.
About 5,300 people, less than 7 percent of registered voters, participated in the District 6 runoff, while over 12,400 people, about 12 percent of registered voters, turned out for the District 7 election, according to Harris County election statistics.