Caroline Harris won the election for the 52nd Texas House of Representative District by a 12 point margin on Tuesday, defeating Democrat Luis Echegaray. This win makes Caroline Harris the youngest Republican woman to ever serve in the Texas House. She is 28.
The 52nd District, previously represented by another young member, Democrat James Talarico, was redistricted into a more friendly Republican district in 2020. Talarico elected to run in the bluer 50th District, opening the seat for a new incumbent.
Harris primarily ran a campaign focused on property taxes, border security, the pro-life movement, and parental rights in education. Her opponent, Echegaray, ran on immigration reform, gun control, the pro-choice movement, and improving infrastructure.
When asked about her victory, Harris told Fox News Digital ‘We pulled off a victory through hard work and sheer grit, effective messaging, and a grassroots army of volunteers energized and excited to flip this seat from Democrat to Republican.’
Early on in the race Harris received some high-profile endorsements including Texas Right to Life, Texas Values Action, and Gov. Gregg Abbott, who released a statement endorsing her: ‘Caroline Harris is a lifelong conservative. Her experience working for conservative priorities with the Legislature will give her constituents a proven fighter with strong pro-life and Second Amendment credentials. I urge everyone in House District 52 to support Caroline Harris.’
In addition to these endorsements, Harris received support from a non-profit organization called Run Gen-Z which is dedicated to ‘preparing Generation Z leaders to take action, take charge and take control of the future by supporting the vision of the founders of this country and supporting conservative political values such as limited government, free market capitalism, individual responsibility and fiscal restraint.’
‘It is important for my generation to have a seat at the table in determining the public policy decisions that will shape the future of our state and nation.’ Harris told Fox News Digital. ‘For too long, the Democrat Party has claimed to be the voice of young women. I look forward to providing a strong counter voice on behalf of conservative women of all ages. I want to show young women how to safeguard and champion the principles that we as Americans hold so dear through public policy.’
Before running for office Harris was the policy director for state Senator Bryan Hughes and was responsible for some of Texas’ more ambitious legislation leading up to the race, such as the Heartbeat Bill and anti-CRT legislation. When asked about her new legislative priorities, Harris told Fox News Digital, ‘My top priorities as state representative are to lower property taxes, secure our border, and fight back against Biden’s radical policies that have increased the cost of gasoline and groceries for all Americans.’
While Harris is the youngest Republican woman to be elected to the state House, the youngest man to win a seat in the Texas House was Homer Hendricks (D). He was elected in 1921 at the age of 20.
