DENTON COUNTY, Texas — The race for State House District 63 in southern Denton County features a former Democrat state legislator attempting to unseat an incumbent Republican to get back into the state legislature.
State Rep. Ben Bumgarner is hoping to hold onto his seat after being elected into office two years ago. He faces a challenge from Michelle Beckley, who was previously a state representative for District 65 before giving up her seat to run for U.S. Congress.
However, Beckley lost her congressional race, and is now running in this neighboring district.
Bumgarner is the owner of Evolve Weapons Systems, which develops and sells rifles and custom firearms. He has expressed support for banning Democrats from being given committee chairmanships while Republicans control the State House. Bumgarner was also one of many Republicans who voted to impeach Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton last year.
Beckley owns and managers her family business, Kookaburra Bird Shop. Her previous time in the State House lasted two terms, during which she authored numerous bills involving women's reproductive health, public health and LGBTQ+ equality. She also received pushback from religious groups for a bill she introduced that would have amended the Texas Family Code to discuss marriage using gender-neutral language and remove provision from the Health and Safety Code regarding the "criminality" of homosexual conduct.
State House District 63 encompasses much of Flower Mound, as well as Trophy Club, parts of Roanoke and southern Lewisville.
The 63rd District is heavily conservative with a growing population. It hasn't had a Democratic representative in more than 30 years, since 1993. But Beckley was first elected to her previous office by defeating a Republican in a seat that had been held by a conservative for nearly 25 years.
Track the election results here:
