Katrina Pierson wins Republican primary runoff for Texas House district

Former Trump spokesperson Katrina Pierson wins Republican primary runoff in Texas

Katrina Pierson, who served as Donald Trump’s spokesperson during his 2016 presidential campaign, has emerged victorious in the Republican primary runoff for Texas’ 33rd state House district, CNN projects. Pierson will unseat incumbent state Rep. Justin Holland in the Dallas-area district, and with no Democrat on the ballot, she is almost certain to win the general election in November.

Pierson, a highly visible Trump surrogate during his first campaign, regularly appeared on cable television to defend Trump and promote his White House bid. After the 2020 election, she played a key role in the “Stop the Steal” movement, which falsely claimed that Joe Biden’s win was illegitimate due to widespread fraud.

In the lead-up to the Capitol riot on January 6, Pierson’s email to fellow rally organizers on January 2, 2021, indicated that “POTUS expectations are to have something intimate at the ellipse and call on everyone to march to the Capitol.” Her testimony before the January 6 committee shed light on the role of different Trump advisers in the events leading up to the attack.

Despite her past loyalty to Trump, Pierson was noncommittal about endorsing him again earlier in the election cycle. She expressed support for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who had not yet launched his White House bid at the time.

During the state House race, Pierson was a vocal advocate for school vouchers, a policy supported by Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott but opposed by Holland. Pierson’s victory in the primary runoff sets the stage for her to potentially bring her pro-Trump, conservative agenda to the Texas state House.