A top pickup opportunity for Dems, which could slam the brakes on vouchers for at least this session. Also an interesting race in its own right.
Averie Bishop
Rep. Angie Chen Button, 70, is living the American Dream. After immigrating from Taiwan to Texas for graduate school at 24, she improved her English, climbed the corporate ladder and was elected to the state House, where she has served eight terms as the only Asian American woman in the Legislature.
Averie Bishop, 28, is living her own version of the American Dream. Her mother fled poverty in the Philippines and moved to Texas where she worked as a maid and married a bus driver. The two worked hard so Bishop could eventually go to college and law school, and, in 2022, become the first Asian American to be crowned Miss Texas.
These two women — Button a Republican, and Bishop a Democrat — say their stories reflect the opportunity and upward mobility that have drawn so many immigrants to Texas. Now they face off this November in a rare election featuring two Asian candidates, vying for the seat in House District 112, which is poised to be one of the state’s most competitive legislative races.
Button has held on to her seat representing a slice of Dallas’ northern suburbs through several tough elections, since being first elected in 2008. She is a formidable incumbent with strong relationships with state officials, including Gov. Greg Abbott, who is counting on her reelection in part to push through school voucher legislation in the coming session. Bishop, meanwhile, enjoys the name recognition and social media platform associated with her historic beauty pageant win, and could ride the Gen Z wave boosted by Vice President Kamala Harris at the top of the Democratic ticket.
The winner will be the only Asian woman in the Legislature and also one of six members to ever serve in the 150-member Texas House. No Asian American has ever been elected to the Texas Senate. The match up is only the second time in Texas history that two Asian candidates have faced off for a legislative seat, marking a milestone for the state’s fastest-growing racial group which is proving to be a small but burgeoning political force.
That last sentence is not true, as Rep. Hubert Vo has defeated Republican Lily Truong in each of the last two cycles. I suspect they meant to say “only the second time in Texas history that two female Asian candidates have faced off for a legislative seat”, as they reference Rep. Button’s first race, in which she defeated Democrat Sandra Phuong Vu Le. A pedantic point, but that’s what we’re here for.
I’ve mentioned Averie Bishop before, as she is an impressive candidate who has “future star” potential as far as the eye can see. But you have to win the race in front of you first, and Rep. Chen Button has run ahead of the Republican baseline in her district, which just barely went for Trump in 2020. Bishop had made a name for herself before this race, and she’s done the things you want a candidate to do in it. If you’re in the Dallas area, see what you can do to help her campaign. If we want to move forward, this is the kind of race we have to win.