Heat intensifies around Houston Democrat Shawn Thierry ahead of bitter runoff

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With two weeks until the primary runoff, State Rep. Shawn Thierry’s fight for political survival intensifies, as more of his current and former legislative colleagues have lined up behind his opponent and become increasingly virulent in their criticism of the Houston Democrat.

Last weekend, U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, a Dallas Democrat who previously served in the Texas House with Thierry, spoke at a campaign event in which she condemned her former colleague and reiterated his support for Lauren Ashley Simmons in the May 28 vote.

“I’m not running for (just) anyone. Shawn Thierry is really bad,” Crockett said. “She needs to go.”

Thierry, a 54-year-old Houston lawyer, has been in her own party’s crosshairs since last spring, when she voted for a measure banning gender transition care for minors and then delivered an emotional speech from the House explaining why she broke up. with his party. Thierry’s vote and viral remarks sparked a spirited, well-funded challenge from Simmons, a 36-year-old union organizer who finished ahead of Thierry in a three-way primary in March.

The two now face off in a runoff that will effectively decide who represents Houston’s solidly blue South District next year, while also testing the resistance of Democrats who vote for GOP bills opposed by the LGBTQ+ community . Thierry, the only Texas House Democrat to be pushed into a runoff, countered with her own list of endorsements from black church leaders and six of her Democratic colleagues.

Simmons, meanwhile, gained support from eight Democrats who currently serve with Thierry in the Texas House and two others — Crockett and former lawmaker Garnet Coleman — who previously overlapped with her in the lower chamber. Several of them, including Crockett, appeared with Simmons this weekend for a rally and block march round.

“She Never Got You Back,” Crockett said, after recounting a story in which Thierry allegedly asked House Speaker Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, whether Democrats would be allowed to keep their committee positions if they continued with their plan to flee the state to thwart a proposed GOP elections law. “They were targeting his voters. And you know what interested him? His damn seat on a committee.

Thierry ended up joining more than 50 House Democrats who flew to Washington, D.C., to temporarily deny Republicans the quorum needed to pass their bill overhauling the state’s elections. She denied the details of Crockett’s account, calling it a “made-up scenario” intended to boost Simmons’ campaign.

“I will conclude that it is disappointing and beyond bizarre that these MPs ever believed that holding a hyperbolic press conference solely to attack a fellow Democrat during a Democratic runoff was a good idea,” Thierry said. written the.

Thierry added that she “never raised her hand in a meeting to ask (Phelan) such a stupid question,” and she suggested that some of Simmons’ legislative supporters should be blamed for helping Republicans to restore the quorum they used to pass the electoral bill.

Thierry, for her part, touts the support of a coalition of church leaders that she says is “the largest collective of African-American Baptist pastors ever assembled in a Democratic primary runoff.” She formulated it as a “major policy shift” in the primary, emphasizing “the central role that the Black Church plays in shaping the civic engagement of African Americans and mobilizing communities against societal injustices.”

“I would like this to be a sign to all legislators, and to those seeking to become legislators, that you too can benefit from this type of support as you stand up for justice,” MD Morrison Sr., pastor of New Faith Baptist from Houston. Church Northeast, said while flanked by Thierry and other ministers at a recent campaign event. “You too can benefit from this type of solidarity from the faith community when you simply stand up for what is right. »

Thierry is seeking his fifth term representing House District 146, a heavily Democratic seat that covers parts of south and southwest Houston. The neighborhood is three-quarters non-white and anchored by Sunnyside, a low-income, majority-black neighborhood that was once a thriving economic hub that is trying to revitalize itself.

Thierry hopes support from the black religious community will be enough to overcome Simmons’ growing support from Democratic politicians and local political groups. Since the runoff, Simmons has added support from U.S. Rep. Lizzie Fletcher and Houston state Reps. Alma Allen, Ann Johnson and Christina Morales.

Five of Thierry’s House colleagues had previously endorsed Simmons in the first round, including Houston-area Reps. Jon Rosenthal and Gene Wu. Simmons was also endorsed by former Senate and gubernatorial candidate Beto O ‘Rourke.

Asked about fellow Democrats who had lined up behind Simmons’ campaign, Thierry said that in “a political climate like the one we see developing on both sides, it is understandable that some people have made choices to support candidates on the basis of very sensitive issues.

“Ultimately, the voters of District 146 will decide,” she added.

Thierry added recent endorsements from state Reps. Richard Raymond, D-Laredo, and Sergio Muñoz Jr., D-Palmview. She is also supported by Democratic state Reps. Nicole Collier of Fort Worth, Harold Dutton of Houston, Barbara Gervin-Hawkins of San Antonio and Eddie Morales Jr. of Eagle Pass.

The animosity toward Thierry within her own party comes after she broke ranks on three major GOP bills that became law: a ban on gender transition care for minors; a bill to remove sexually explicit books from school libraries, a designation that critics feared would be used to target LGBTQ+ literature; and requiring transgender college athletes to play on teams that correspond to their sex assigned at birth.

Critics of Thierry’s remarks on the gender transition bill pointed out that she ignored the fact that decisions on the treatment of minors could only be made by parents or legal guardians. Consensus among major medical groups has also held that gender transition care should be available to children and adolescents in the care of physicians.

A number of Republicans welcomed Thierry’s comments, calling them a courageous rebuke of what they view as a radical position. She received most of her campaign funding from a mix of GOP donors, PACs that advocate for charter schools and school vouchers, and the Las Vegas Sands-affiliated PAC, which aims to legalize gambling. casino in Texas. Also among Thierry’s top donors is Adam Loewy, a personal injury lawyer in Austin who primarily donates to Democrats.

Thierry wasn’t the only Democrat to support the Republican legislation — 11 others voted for the book ban bill, including Collier, Dutton, Morales, Muñoz and Raymond — but she was by far the most outspoken. She said in another speech that the book bill would put in place safeguards against explicit material that has “infiltrated” schools, noting that it, she said, teaches children how to access dating website.

Crockett said she decided to weigh in on the race after the Houston Chronicle editorial board quoted Thierry appearing to dismiss Simmons supporters in the Texas House as “the gays.” Thierry said the quote was “completely taken out of context from the larger discussion,” but in any case, Simmons’ campaign told the Chronicle that it received a significant fundraising boost after the publication of Thierry’s remarks.

Simmons’ major donors are the Texas Organizing Project, the Texas Gulf Coast AFL-CIO and the Houston Federation of Teachers.

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