Collin County could play a key role in deciding not only who becomes Texas’ next US Senator, but also which party controls the Texas House.
Part of the county, which covers the suburbs north of Dallas, falls in Texas House District 67. The district includes parts of Allen, McKinney, Plano, Princeton, Melissa, and Anna, and it has been represented by Republican state Rep. Jeff Leach since 2012.
While much of the county has historically voted Republican, it’s become a swing region in recent years, and one Democrat is hoping to flip HD 67 this November.
Jordan Wheatley, 28, is a public elementary school teacher and basketball coach who “never wanted to be a politician” but got involved in politics because he was “one mad teacher.”
“ I can tell you right now that our schools are under attack,” Wheatley said during a campaign event in Plano on Oct. 18. “They have gutted us from one end to the other. We have no money, no resources, and they’re asking us to do three persons’ jobs. It’s why I teach 3rd and 4th grade.”
Wheatley’s campaign website says he “isn’t running to be a politician” but because he’s “a teacher who refuses to watch a rigged system steal his students’ potential before they even pick up a pencil.” He blames Leach for problems in Texas public schools and accuses him of corruption.
“We have had corrupt politicians like my opponent, Jeff Leach, who have continued to sell out our communities and our students and their futures,” he said.
Leach has been a vocal supporter of Texas’ private school voucher program, voting in favor of Senate Bill 2 last legislative session, which critics claim is welfare for the wealthy and takes crucial funding away from public schools.
He also helped author and pass Senate Bill 12, which prohibits all diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives in K-12 public schools.
In contrast, Wheatley is running on reevaluating Texas’ private school voucher program, pushing for more transparency, public accountability, and for private schools to be held to the same standards, rules, and laws that public schools are if taxpayer dollars are going toward them.
He also believes policymakers should carefully consider how participating schools are held accountable for educational outcomes, student protections, and the services they provide, according to his campaign website.
“Greg Abbott, his elite donors, and the politicians they have in their pocket like Leach, pushed a voucher scam designed to suck the money out of our neighborhood public schools to fund private education for the wealthy few,” Wheatley said. “Unfortunately, the corruption and the self-hunger for power has poisoned our government. As a teacher who works two jobs and a caregiver who has lived through the medical bill struggle, I see the system being rigged against the majority of us.”
The candidates also have differing approaches to school property taxes.
In a Dallas Morning News candidate questionnaire, Leach said he wants to “work to do away with property taxes.” Wheatley wrote that “promising to completely eliminate school property taxes without a realistic replacement plan is a dangerous political soundbite that threatens the future of our public education system,” noting that “school property taxes generate tens of billions of dollars annually to keep our local classrooms open, pay our teachers, and maintain school facilities.”
Wheatley is urging North Texans to get out and vote, as early voting kicked off on Oct. 19 and runs through Oct. 30. Election day is Nov. 3.
“ In my classroom right now, we are focusing on ‘what’s your story going to be?’ We focus on it every day,” Wheatley told voters in Plano. “I tell my students that their actions have an impact on their future. So I’m asking you, not just as a school teacher, but as a candidate as well, don’t just go vote, but make sure your neighbor votes, your cousin votes, their best friend votes, take 10 people with you to the polls.”
All 150 seats in the Texas House of Representatives are on the ballot, and Republicans control 88 of them. Democrats would need to flip 14 seats to win control of the lower chamber.
