Abbott-backed Shofner defeats Clardy following contentious fight for Texas House seat
While a single vote would have likely changed the outcome for Clardy, his stance on school vouchers remains the same.
NACGODOCHES, Texas (KTRE) - Following a contentious fight to the finish, Republican Joanne Shofner took Nacogdoches attorney Travis Clardy’s seat in the House of Representatives, a seat he’s held since January 2013.
“Our plan was simple. Let people know that we hear them, we have the same values, and I’m willing to serve. Guess what? It worked. Being authentic, transparent and having integrity is what people wanted. Because it’s what we wanted,” Shofner said to supporters on election night.
Shofner crossed the finish line with the support of Gov. Abbott, who promised to campaign against House Republicans who voted against his school voucher-like plan, a crusade that included three visits to House District 11 and plenty of outside spending on attack ads from pro-voucher groups.
“I think if we did a counterfactual, what would have happened had people like Travis Clardy voted for school choice legislation as opposed to against it, Clardy would be on his way to re-election today because he either would not have had a credible opponent or if he did have a credible opponent, they would have been heavily underfunded,” said Mark Jones, a Rice University political scientist.
Jones said when the dust settles across the state, Gov. Abbott will likely have the votes needed to push through his school choice legislation in 2025, and said the message sent Tuesday night was one of caution for House Republicans.
“He sent a signal to those remaining holdouts that if you mess with the bull, you get the horns,” Jones said. “And that there are consequences to defying Gov. Abbott. Meaning that probably even a few of the remaining holdout may decide that they’re better off next session, instead of opposing Gov. Abbott, sitting down and negotiating with him to maximize the benefits to their local ISDs in exchange for their support for school choice legislation.”
And while a single vote would have likely changed the outcome for Clardy, his stance on school vouchers remains the same.
“I voted my conscience, I voted my heart. And most importantly, I voted my district. I still believe I’m right. But you know what? That’s why we have elections,” Clardy said on election night.
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