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EDlection2018: Texas Elects 4 Democrats, 3 Republicans to Its 15-Member Board of Education

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EDlection2018: This is one of several dozen races we’ve analyzed for the 2018 midterms that could go on to influence state or federal education policy. Get the latest headlines delivered straight to your inbox; sign up for The 74 Newsletter.

Texas voters returned four incumbents to the state’s notoriously fractious Board of Education Tuesday night and elected three newcomers, according to the Texas Tribune’s live vote tracker. The balance of power remains the same, with five Democrats and 10 Republicans, each representing nearly 2 million Texans.

The board has a range of powers, including setting curricular standards and vetting texts and approving some charter school applications. Because Texas, like California, is home to so many students, the board’s mandates often affect what publishers and other education vendors produce, and by extension the materials that show up in classrooms throughout the country.

The board made headlines earlier this fall for contentious debates about the depiction of slavery’s role in the Civil War, whether to continue to refer to the defenders of the Alamo as “heroic,” and whether to mention Hillary Clinton and Helen Keller by name.

Seven of 15 seats were up for election. Democrats elected or re-elected are Ruben Cortez Jr., Marisa Perez, Lawrence Allen Jr., and Aicha Davis. Republicans are Matt Robinson, Patricia “Pat” Harvey, and Pam Little.

EDlection2018: This is one of several dozen races we’ve analyzed for the 2018 midterms that could go on to influence state or federal education policy. Get the latest headlines delivered straight to your inbox; sign up for The 74 Newsletter.

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