A Texas Democratic lawmaker who broke with her party by supporting a ban on gender-affirming care for minors was unseated in a primary runoff that galvanized LGBTQ+ groups across the country, who then campaigned for her opponent in the race for the Republican seat. south of Houston.
Rep. Shawn Thierry’s defeat followed four terms in which the Houston lawmaker typically joined her Democratic colleagues on major issues, including voting against aggressive immigration measures demanded by Republican Governor Greg Abbott and a ban on diversity programs on college campuses.
But she outraged fellow Democrats when she gave a 12-minute speech on the Texas House floor last year, defending a proposed ban on gender-affirming care for minors. Three other Democrats also voted for the measure, but none were as vocal as Thierry, who lost by double digits on Tuesday night to challenger Lauren Ashley Simmons, a union organizer.
“Her vote was the reason she ran, but when she doubled down and really went down the rabbit hole of misinformation, it energized people in the LGBTQ community,” said former Houston Mayor Annise Parker. president and CEO of the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund. , who supported Simmons’ bid.
Simmons will be the favorite to win the seat in November in the heavily Democratic district.
A message left Wednesday with Thierry’s campaign was not immediately returned.
But during an emotional debate on the bill last year, Thierry said his vote in favor of the ban was in line with his conscience and the values of his electorate.
“I am making the decision to put the safety and well-being of all young people above the comfort of political expediency,” said Thierry. “It is my main belief and conclusion that we must remain consistent in the premise that children should be provided with special provisions under the law as they cannot fully appreciate the long-term consequences of their actions.”
While most Democrats support rightssafety and visibility of LGBTQ+ adults and children, many Democrats across the country have struggled to contain a barrage of attacks from the Republican Party about LGBTQ+ people, especially trans people.
Simmons has had support from LGBTQ+ groups in Texas and across the country. The Human Rights Campaign’s political action committee supported her challenge against Thierry and called and texted more than 2,000 people in support of her candidacy. Equality Texas, another group, organized block walks for Simmons, ran ads and created a website for Simmons.
Grant Martin, a political consultant for the Simmons campaign, said that although other Democrats also voted in favor of the ban, Thierry reinforced his support for the ban.
“Our opponent after that vote went on Fox News and defended her vote and put out some of these Republican talking points,” Martin said.
Martin said Thierry also faced criticism for his support from several Republican campaign donors.
Thierry praised the support of black pastors in the district that spans south and southwest Houston. Mark Jones, a political science professor at Rice University, said the race is likely to leave an impression on other Democrats.
“This sends a clear message to Democratic elected officials that if you break with the party on key issues, … you actually run the risk of being elected in the primary and removed from office,” Jones said. “It’s the same kind of purge and litmus test we’ve seen recently in the Republican Party.”
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Murphy reported from Oklahoma City and DeMillo from Little Rock, Arkansas.
This story originally appeared on Time.com read the full story
