Longtime Educator Roxanne Lathan Aims to Flip Deep-Red East Texas Seat

Can a community-focused campaign overcome the district's Republican lean?

Apr. 13, 2026 at 9:49pm

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A serene, painterly image of a lone school bus parked on a rural road, the vehicle's yellow exterior and windows reflecting the warm, golden light of the Texas sun, evoking a sense of nostalgia and the importance of public education in small-town communities.A community-focused campaign aims to overcome the partisan lean of a deep-red East Texas district.Abbott Today

Roxanne Lathan, a retired elementary school principal, is running as a Democrat to represent Texas House District 11, a deeply conservative region in East Texas. Despite the district's Republican tilt, Lathan is banking on her local roots, focus on economic issues, and potential anti-GOP sentiment in a wave election to make the race competitive.

Why it matters

HD11 is a solidly Republican district, but Lathan's profile as a longtime East Texan and her emphasis on kitchen-table issues like wages, education, and cost of living could make her campaign more viable than a typical Democratic challenger in this region. If Lathan can significantly narrow the margin, it would signal the potential for Democrats to make inroads in traditionally conservative areas by running candidates who feel authentically connected to their communities.

The details

Lathan, who was born in Houston and raised in the East Texas region, spent decades as an elementary school principal before retiring and deciding to run for the state legislature. She is framing her campaign around issues like raising the minimum wage, fully funding public education, and ensuring access to affordable healthcare and other essential services. While the district leans heavily Republican, with Trump and Cruz winning it by large margins in 2024, Lathan is hoping to appeal to economically frustrated voters, particularly in the more racially diverse population centers of Nacogdoches, Rusk, and Shelby counties.

  • Lathan announced her candidacy in January 2026 for the November 2026 general election.
  • Early voting for the general election will run from October 21 to November 3, 2026.

The players

Roxanne Lathan

A retired elementary school principal who is running as the Democratic candidate for Texas House District 11.

Joanne Shofner

The incumbent Republican state representative for HD11, who was first elected in 2024 after a well-funded campaign that focused on school vouchers.

Greg Abbott

The Republican governor of Texas, who provided $450,000 in campaign funds to help Shofner win the HD11 seat in 2024.

Texas Lawsuit Reform

A conservative advocacy group that contributed $725,000 to Shofner's 2024 campaign, helping to secure the HD11 seat for the Republican party.

Travis Clardy

The previous Republican state representative for HD11, who lost his seat in 2024 after refusing to support school voucher legislation that would have harmed his district.

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What they’re saying

“No one working full-time should struggle to afford basic necessities like housing, food, healthcare, and transportation. The current minimum wage has not kept pace with the rising cost of living, especially in communities across Texas where working families are feeling the strain of inflation and stagnant wages.”

— Roxanne Lathan, Democratic Candidate for Texas House District 11

“Voucher programs divert critical public funding away from neighborhood schools and send it to private institutions that are not held to the same standards of accountability, transparency, or accessibility. That weakens the very system that the vast majority of Texas children rely on.”

— Roxanne Lathan, Democratic Candidate for Texas House District 11

What’s next

The judge in Joanne Shofner's 2024 campaign finance case will rule on whether to allow her to remain out on bail ahead of the 2026 election.

The takeaway

Roxanne Lathan's campaign in deep-red East Texas District 11 represents an opportunity for Democrats to test whether an economic populist message focused on kitchen-table issues can resonate in traditionally conservative areas. While flipping the seat remains an uphill climb, a strong performance that narrows the margin could signal the potential for Democrats to make inroads in similar communities across the state.