Gary Wayne VanDeaver (born September 25, 1958)[1] is an American politician serving as the state representative for the Texas House of Representatives' 1st district, which encompasses Bowie, Cass, Lamar, Morris, and Red River counties in northeastern Texas.[2] He is a retired lifelong educator with the Avery Independent School District, Rivercrest Independent School District[3] and finally at New Boston Independent School District in New Boston, Texas, where he still resides.
Gary VanDeaver | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Texas House of Representatives from the 1st district | |
| Assumed office January 13, 2015 | |
| Preceded by | George Lavender |
| Personal details | |
| Born | September 25, 1958 Grimes County, Texas, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse |
Pamela Sue Nevill VanDeaver
(m. 1983) |
| Children | 2 |
| Residence(s) | New Boston, Texas, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Texas A&M University–Commerce |
| Occupation | Educator |
| Website | garyvandeaver |
VanDeaver was first elected in 2014, and has been re-elected by his district four times, in 2016, 2018, 2020, and 2022.[4] He has defeated the previous incumbent, George Lavender, on three separate occasions, and has never faced opposition in a general election. He identifies as a Conservative Republican.
Background
editVanDeaver was born in Grimes County south of College Station, Texas.[1][5][6] He grew up on a cattle ranch in Red River County outside of Clarksville TX [7]
Political Life
editVanDeaver was first elected in 2014, defeating the incumbent George Lavender by 54.34%-45.66% in the 2014 Republican primary election.[8] VanDeaver faced no opposition in the 2014 general election.
VanDeaver easily defeated Lavender in a rematch in the 2016 Republican primary on March 1, 2016.[9] VanDeaver received 18,263 votes (61.93 percent) to Lavender's 11,242 (38.07 percent).[10] VanDeaver faced no opposition in the 2016 general election.
VanDeaver ran unopposed in the 2018 Republican primary.[11] VanDeaver ran unopposed in the general election held on November 6, 2018.[12]
VanDeaver ran unopposed in the 2020 Republican primary.[13] VanDeaver ran unopposed in the general election held on November 3, 2020.[14]
VanDeaver ran again in the 2022 Republican primary, once again defeating Lavender (and a third candidate, Ray Null); the margin being 62.88%-28.96% over Lavender with Null taking only 8.16%.[15] As with his previous general election races, VanDeaver again faced no opposition.
VanDeaver ran in the 2024 Republican primary against Chris Spencer and Dale Huls. VanDeaver received 45.5% of the primary vote, while Spencer garnered 43.0% and Huls received 11.4%, resulting in a runoff election.[16] In the Republican primary runoff, VanDeaver defeated Spencer with 53.5% of the vote, while Spencer received 46.5%.[17]
References
edit- ^ a b "Gary Wayne VanDeaver". search.ancestry.com. Retrieved January 15, 2015.
- ^ Representatives, Texas House of. "Texas House of Representatives". www.house.texas.gov. Retrieved 2024-06-24.
- ^ "Tallant, VanDeaver PJC Distinguished Alumni". 6 October 2015.
- ^ Representatives, Texas House of. "Texas House of Representatives". www.house.texas.gov. Retrieved 2021-11-19.
- ^ "Conservative Republican Gary VanDeaver for State Representative". garyvandeaver.com. Retrieved December 3, 2014.
- ^ "Gary VanDeaver". Texarkana Business Journal. Archived from the original on November 3, 2014. Retrieved December 3, 2014.
- ^ "Biography – Gary VanDeaver".
- ^ "Race Summary Report. 2014 Republican Party Primary Election. 3/4/2014". Office of the Secretary of State. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
- ^ "2016 Filed Primary Candidates". texasgop.org. Archived from the original on January 19, 2016. Retrieved December 28, 2015.
- ^ "Republican primary returns". Texas Secretary of State. March 1, 2016. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016. Retrieved March 3, 2016.
- ^ Murphy, Ryan (March 6, 2018). "Texas Primaries 2018: Full election results". Texas Tribune. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
- ^ "Gary VanDeaver". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
- ^ Astudillo, Carla (2020-03-03). "Texas primary 2020 results: Live updates from elections". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved 2021-11-19.
- ^ "Texas 2020 election results". The Texas Tribune. 2020-11-03. Retrieved 2021-11-19.
- ^ "Press". Gary VanDeaver. 2021-08-15. Retrieved 2022-01-12.
- ^ "Texas election results for president, senate, Congress and more". The Texas Tribune. 2024-03-05. Retrieved 2024-06-23.
- ^ "Texas runoff election results: House, Senate, and more". The Texas Tribune. 2024-05-28. Retrieved 2024-06-23.