Nice.
Averie Bishop
Last year’s Miss Texas is entering another competition where she’ll be judged on her talents, leadership abilities and appearance. But this time it won’t be a beauty pageant.
Averie Bishop became the first Asian American winner of the Miss Texas competition in its 85-year history. Now she’s running for the Texas House.
Bishop, 26, filed as a candidate in Texas House District 112, north of Dallas. She’s running in the Democratic primary. If she wins, she will face Rep. Angie Chen Button, a Richardson Republican. Chen Button did not respond to a request for comment.
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Although the job of Miss Texas has most commonly been held by white women who don’t take controversial political stances, Bishop chose diversity and inclusion for her platform. The move came as Gov. Greg Abbott and Republican lawmakers in Austin have in recent years promoted legislation restricting how Texas teachers can discuss the history of racism in America and repealing diversity policies at the state’s colleges and universities — policies Bishop has spoken out against.
I had referred to Averie Bishop as a future legislator when I first wrote about her, and Ginger wrote about this in the August 19 Dispatch. I didn’t realize that future could potentially be this soon. HD112 is a genuine swing district and will surely be a top Dem priority next year. Bishop, as noted in that earlier story, has strong pro-choice credentials. If abortion is going to be a winning issue for Dems in this state, that’s a district where it ought to happen. Legislative races are often more multi-dimensional than that, and incumbent Rep. Angie Chen Button has been an over-performer, including in 2022. This one ought to be a hard-fought matchup. Reform Austin and Mark Steger have more.