Bryan Hughes wins Senate District 1 seat, defeating David Simpson

Published 10:06 pm Tuesday, May 24, 2016

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State Rep. Bryan Hughes of Mineola trounced fellow state Rep. David Simpson of Longview in the race for the Texas Senate District 1 seat.

Totals have Hughes ahead, with 69.3 percent of the vote to Simpson’s 30.7 percent, with all 175 precincts in the race reporting.

Because he has no Democratic opponent in November, Hughes will be sworn in to the seat being vacated by Sen. Kevin Eltife of Tyler.

“I’m just overwhelmed at the outpouring of support,” he said Tuesday night. “We’re humbled and very thankful for this support. It’s a big responsibility and we’re ready to get to work.”

Hughes nearly won the March 1 primary outright, with 48 percent of the vote. His opponents, Simpson and James “Red” Brown, were virtually tied, at about 21.25 percent each. A fourth candidate, Mike Lee, was a distant also-ran with 9.5 percent.

Brown didn’t endorse either Hughes or Simpson in the runoff.

Hughes has been in the House since 2002. He clashed with House leadership from time to time – even running against Speaker Joe Straus in 2011.

“I’ve asked people to look at my record,” he said during the campaign. I think it reflects the values of East Texas, and I’ve built relationships in the region and in Austin to work for the district. I take principled stands without burning bridges and hurting relationships. It just makes sense that we have someone who can step in right away.”

Yet in the Senate campaign, he’s had the backing of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.

“It’s been a real blessing to have the Lieutenant Governor’s support,” Hughes said. “He’s known as a conservative, and his values line up with East Texas, so his endorsement means a lot. “

Hughes also got a late-in-the-game boost from Eltife, who held back from endorsing any candidate in the race, but donated $5,000 to Hughes late last week.

Contacted Tuesday night, Eltife said he was pleased with the outcome of the race.

“I’m excited that Bryan has won, and I definitely think he will do a great job for Senate District 1,” Eltife said. “I think he’s the right man for the job. I’ve actually been working with him pretty closely ever since the session ended, and I’ll keep doing that with issues that are important to our district. I want to do whatever I can to help him have a smooth start in the Senate.”

Hughes said he will get to work in coming weeks, readying for the upcoming legislative session, which starts in January 2017.

“My priorities will be what we’ve been talking about all through the campaign, as we’ve knocked on doors and talked to people,” he said. “We’ll focus on fighting the expansion of Obamacare, fighting to secure the border and fighting for religious freedom, as we see it coming under fire more and more.”

Hughes said the recent Texas Supreme Court decision that ruled the state’s school finance system isn’t going to sway his determination to find a better way to fund public schools.

“Long before the Supreme Court ruled, we already knew that the current system isn’t working,” he said. “Most of our students in Northeast Texas are not being treated fairly. The current system favors the fast-growing urban schools. So no matter what the Supreme Court said, we knew we had to fix the system. We need to make sure a child’s ZIP code doesn’t determine the level of funding she receives. And we’ll be pushing for more local control and less mandated testing.”

Simpson, for his part, will be out of the House when the 85th Legislature convenes on Jan. 10.

Simpson did not respond to the Tyler Paper on Tuesday evening. However, he told the Longview News-Journal, “I am surprised he won by so much. I was hoping it would be close, at least. It wasn’t even that. I have a little feeling for what Robert E. Lee felt when he went and surrendered to Gen. Ulysses S. Grant.”

Twitter: @tmt_roy