(RepublicanJournal.org) – A former official from Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign has won the primary for a seat in the Texas legislature. Katrina Pierson was the spokeswoman for Trump’s successful White House run. Now she’s ready to run a campaign of her own.
In 2015, the Trump campaign hired Pierson, a 39-year-old former health industry manager and Tea Party activist from Wichita, Kansas, to act as its national spokeswoman. Mixed race and relatively young, she was a media-friendly face for the campaign, and since then she’s maintained strong links with Trump and other leading Republicans. Her next step was to put herself forward for the Texas House of Representatives, entering the primary for the state’s 33rd District.
On March 5 — Super Tuesday — Pierson went up against incumbent Justin Holland (R-TX) in the Republican primary for the 33rd District. She beat Holland, with 39.5% of the vote against his 38.7%, but that wasn’t enough for an outright victory. Instead, a runoff was scheduled for May 28. In the rematch, Pierson managed to get 56.4%, defeating Holland and winning the GOP nomination. The 33rd District is solidly red — Holland was elected with 65% of the vote in 2022 — and Pierson stands an excellent chance of winning in November.
Pierson has other advantages beyond a solidly Republican district. She’s likely to get Trump’s endorsement and she’s also backed by Texas Governor Gregg Abbott (R). Abbott has been working to unseat state Republicans who oppose his policies, and Holland is one of them. He joined Democrats in voting against a bill, supported by Abbott, that would have allocated public funding for Texas parents to send their children to non-public schools. He was also one of two Texas GOP legislators to support increasing the age for buying semi-automatic rifles from 18 to 21. Abbott wanted him out and replaced with a more conservative lawmaker. Now it looks like he’ll get one, in the person of solid Trump supporter Katrina Pierson.
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