Waco-area voters Tuesday sent Republican state Rep. Pat Curry back to the Texas House amid a night of losses for statewide Republicans.
Curry won 61% of the vote to defeat Democrat Ashley Bean Thornton in the House District 56 race. The district encompasses most of McLennan County.
Thornton, a civic leader, led a highly visible campaign challenging the freshman legislator on issues of school funding. Thornton aimed to be the first Democrat to represent McLennan County in the Legislature since 2010.
In the 2024 election, Curry defeated Democrat Erin Shank with 68.6% of the vote.
In his first term, Curry supported a school voucher program as well as additional funding for public school teachers. He also helped bring new mental health funding to the district and carried legislation for a new Central Texas regional water alliance.
“Our job is to take care of our community, and make sure that we’re doing the right things,” Curry told supporters Tuesday night. “We’re going to go down there, and we’re going to continue to fight for water, which we need. We need a statewide water plan really, really bad.
“You just can’t let these small towns and cities not be able to afford their water and afford to be able to fix their water supplies.”
Curry also plans to file legislation allowing renters to protest tax appraisals and making it easier for teens to get work experience.
Curry succeeded Charles “Doc” Anderson, who retired in 2024 and represented Wacoans for nearly two decades beginning in 2005.
Curry worked with Rep. Angelia Orr to secure $5 million in mental health funding for the region to bolster local resources after the loss of the DePaul Center, a 48-bed mental health facility.
Despite the loss, Thornton remains optimistic. Thornton stated she did not regret running because she raised issues people care about.
“The whole thing has been so uplifting,” she said. “I think listening to social media and things like that, you get the idea that we’re all really polarized. And when you talk to real people, you realize that there’s just a lot more overlap, a lot more, and that is super hopeful to me.”
Thornton attended the University of Texas at Austin’s LBJ Women’s Campaign School. The training helped her prepare for her decision to run for the seat. At the time, she was unaware of anyone running against Curry.
Editor's Note: This story originally appeared on the Waco Bridge.
