Texas Republicans had two jobs if they wanted to win in Harris and Fort Bend counties. They had to turn out Christian voters, and they had to earn Latino votes. Stan Stanart lost his Texas House race in Harris County by 265 votes. In Fort Bend, Matt Morgan led by just 105 votes in the Nov. 9 unofficial count. Before Republican candidates hire the same consultants for another election, they ought to be able to say where they showed up to make their case. Who did you actually ask to vote for you?

Area	Race	Republican result
Harris County	County judge	Orlando Sanchez lost to Letitia Plummer, 39% to 61%.
Harris County	Texas House District 138	Lacey Hull lost to Tyler Smith by 2,529 votes.
Harris County	Texas House District 126	Stan Stanart lost to Stefanie Bord by 265 votes.
Harris County	Texas House District 133	Mano DeAyala defeated Josh Wallenstein by 4,155 votes.
Fort Bend County	Texas House District 28	Gary Gates lost to Sandy Ibanez by 1,608 votes.
Fort Bend County	Texas House District 26	Matt Morgan defeated Elizabeth “Eliz” Markowitz by 105 votes.
Fort Bend and other counties	Texas House District 85	Dennis “Goose” Geesaman defeated Lawrence Brandyburg by 22,502 votes districtwide.

Margins reflect the Harris County judge returns, the state’s posted legislative results and the Nov. 9 Fort Bend count for Districts 26 and 28.

Geesaman won across District 85, and early returns put Brandyburg ahead in the district’s Fort Bend precincts. Julie Pickren won State Board of Education District 7 with 51.4% districtwide. In the county breakdown, she received 19.5% in the Harris County portion and 41.6% in Fort Bend. Republicans can look at what Geesaman and Pickren did to win their districts and still ask why so many voters closer to Houston went the other way.

Who Took the Call?

At Katy Christian Magazine, we published printable voter guides for Harris and Fort Bend counties so readers could take our recommendations to the polls. We sent direct mail into only three Texas House districts, the ones where Matt Morgan, Dennis “Goose” Geesaman and Linda Howell ran. We also published Dr. Steven Hotze’s appeal to Christian conservatives to vote. Houston Latino Family Magazine published voter guides for both counties and offered to help campaigns reach its readers. The magazine endorsed Sandy Ibanez and says it mailed its voter guide to every Latino voter in House District 28, where she ran against Gates.

“We offered to help Gary Gates, Stan Stanart and Lacey Hull reach Latino voters. All three campaigns passed and some wouldn’t even take our calls,” said Laritza García, Houston Latino Family Magazine’s publisher. She said Mano DeAyala, Dennis “Goose” Geesaman and Matt Morgan each asked for help.

When Katy Christian Magazine interviewed DeAyala before the election, he recalled knocking on doors in West Houston in 2024. One voter cut short his introduction and asked, “Can I trust you?” Where did the campaigns that passed on García’s offer give Latino voters a chance to ask questions like that?

The Census Bureau estimates that 46.1% of Harris County residents are Hispanic or Latino. Many Latino voters are also Christian, making up a very critical demographic in the community. In Katy, Pastor Jorge Cárdenas ministers to Spanish-speaking families, and congregations across Katy, Cinco Ranch and west Houston hold services in Spanish.

Julie Pickren made her case for the Bible’s place in education in a September campaign video and highlighted support from pastors and other local leaders. She also discussed her reelection campaign on Luisa Deason’s Frontline Facts. Deason gave her time during the election season without pay. Pickren won District 7 overall. Both magazines endorsed her, and she asked for help right away.

What Was Sanchez Counting On?

Orlando Sanchez, who ran for Harris County judge, posted a photo with former Houston Mayor Annise Parker from a Greater Houston LGBTQ+ Chamber of Commerce event. The chamber’s stated policy is neutrality in candidate races. Was Sanchez there to ask for an endorsement, and if so, from whom? Sanchez and his campaign manager, Chris Beavers, should say what they hoped to gain from the appearance and whose idea it was. Where did his campaign make the case to Christian conservatives it was counting on to turn out?

Orlando Sanchez in 2014, Public Domain, provided by Wikipedia Commons.

Sanchez spoke to Greater Houston LULAC in August. As if he were apologizing for being a Republican, he asked the audience to look past the Republican label and said immigration policy was Congress’s responsibility. A month later, Plummer spoke to the same group and brought up the ordinance she had proposed to limit Houston police interactions with federal immigration agents. Voters heard what she had tried to do in office and what she believed the county could do. Sanchez’s campaign had another opportunity to make its case through Houston Latino Family Magazine and passed on it. Who made that decision? Beavers should explain what he advised Sanchez to do to reach those voters. 

What Did the Consultants Deliver?

Hull’s campaign paid Berry Communications $146,100 in the 2024 cycle and reported another $30,000 for consulting in December 2025. In Gates’s late-October report, two consulting payments to Pelican Campaigns totaled $55,463.54. The same report listed $8,750 in direct mail from Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC as an in-kind contribution.

Lacey Hull, Public Domain, provided by Texas House of Representatives government website.

Stanart’s report listed a $3,000 consulting charge to Colón & Company and a $19,492.38 advertising charge to Data & Mailing Resources. The Houston Chronicle reported in October that Gov. Greg Abbott’s campaign had paid Jessica Colón’s firm more than $255,000 to lead its Harris County operation. Abbott hired captains by House district, and the paper observed Colón knocking on doors with a Republican candidate. Where did those teams go, and which voters did they actually speak with?

In Fort Bend, Ibanez’s campaign asked volunteers to knock on doors, make calls and host meet-and-greets. Its eight-day report listed $3,820 in campaign expenditures for the reporting period. Gates’s listed $171,389. Gates’s campaign should be able to say how it put that money to work in the district.

Morgan’s filing itemized a $22.20 purchase of materials for campaign signs. Ask for that kind of detail about voter contact, too. Which calls did people answer? Which church and community events did candidates attend? Where did the Spanish-language ads run? The people who billed for campaign strategy should be able to tell their clients what they delivered.

Matt Morgan, Public Domain, provided by Texas House of Representatives government website.

We’ve already written about the scale of Republican losses across Texas. Before candidates sign another contract, they ought to ask what the last one bought and who heard from their campaign because of it. If your campaign plan assumes Christian voters will turn out on their own and Latino voters can be an afterthought, what exactly is your plan to win?