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Gary VanDeaver

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Gary VanDeaver
Member of the Texas House of Representatives
from the 1st district
Assumed office
January 13, 2015
Preceded byGeorge Lavender
Personal details
Born (1958-09-25) September 25, 1958 (age 66)
Grimes County, Texas, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse
Pamela Sue Nevill VanDeaver
(m. 1983)
Children2
Residence(s)New Boston, Texas, U.S.
Alma materTexas A&M University–Commerce
OccupationEducator
Websitegaryvandeaver.com

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.

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

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VanDeaver 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

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VanDeaver 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

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  1. ^ a b "Gary Wayne VanDeaver". search.ancestry.com. Retrieved January 15, 2015.
  2. ^ Representatives, Texas House of. "Texas House of Representatives". www.house.texas.gov. Retrieved 2024-06-24.
  3. ^ "Tallant, VanDeaver PJC Distinguished Alumni". 6 October 2015.
  4. ^ Representatives, Texas House of. "Texas House of Representatives". www.house.texas.gov. Retrieved 2021-11-19.
  5. ^ "Conservative Republican Gary VanDeaver for State Representative". garyvandeaver.com. Retrieved December 3, 2014.
  6. ^ "Gary VanDeaver". Texarkana Business Journal. Archived from the original on November 3, 2014. Retrieved December 3, 2014.
  7. ^ "Biography – Gary VanDeaver".
  8. ^ "Race Summary Report. 2014 Republican Party Primary Election. 3/4/2014". Office of the Secretary of State. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  9. ^ "2016 Filed Primary Candidates". texasgop.org. Archived from the original on January 19, 2016. Retrieved December 28, 2015.
  10. ^ "Republican primary returns". Texas Secretary of State. March 1, 2016. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016. Retrieved March 3, 2016.
  11. ^ Murphy, Ryan (March 6, 2018). "Texas Primaries 2018: Full election results". Texas Tribune. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  12. ^ "Gary VanDeaver". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  13. ^ Astudillo, Carla (2020-03-03). "Texas primary 2020 results: Live updates from elections". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved 2021-11-19.
  14. ^ "Texas 2020 election results". The Texas Tribune. 2020-11-03. Retrieved 2021-11-19.
  15. ^ "Press". Gary VanDeaver. 2021-08-15. Retrieved 2022-01-12.
  16. ^ "Texas election results for president, senate, Congress and more". The Texas Tribune. 2024-03-05. Retrieved 2024-06-23.
  17. ^ "Texas runoff election results: House, Senate, and more". The Texas Tribune. 2024-05-28. Retrieved 2024-06-23.
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Texas House of Representatives
Preceded by Texas State Representative for District 1
(Bowie, Franklin, Lamar, and Red River counties)

2015–
Succeeded by
Incumbent