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Gary Wayne VanDeaver (born September 25, 1958) 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. He is a retired lifelong educator with the Avery Independent School District, Rivercrest Independent School District 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. 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

VanDeaver was born in Grimes County south of College Station, Texas. He grew up on a cattle ranch in Red River County outside of Clarksville TX

Political Life

VanDeaver was first elected in 2014, defeating the incumbent George Lavender by 54.34%-45.66% in the 2014 Republican primary election. 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. VanDeaver received 18,263 votes (61.93 percent) to Lavender's 11,242 (38.07 percent). VanDeaver faced no opposition in the 2016 general election.

VanDeaver ran unopposed in the 2018 Republican primary. VanDeaver ran unopposed in the general election held on November 6, 2018.

VanDeaver ran unopposed in the 2020 Republican primary. VanDeaver ran unopposed in the general election held on November 3, 2020.

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%. 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. In the Republican primary runoff, VanDeaver defeated Spencer with 53.5% of the vote, while Spencer received 46.5%.

• Texas
• Education
• Politics

References

1. ^ "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.

External links

• Gary VanDeaver for State Representative
• State legislative page
• Gary VanDeaver at the Texas Tribune

v t e Members of the Texas House of Representatives
89th Texas Legislature (2025) Speaker of the House Dustin Burrows (R) Speaker pro tempore Charlie Geren (R)
▌Gary VanDeaver (R) ▌Brent Money (R) ▌Cecil Bell Jr. (R) ▌Keith Bell (R) ▌Cole Hefner (R) ▌Daniel Alders (R) ▌Jay Dean (R) ▌Cody Harris (R) ▌Trent Ashby (R) ▌Brian Harrison (R) ▌Joanne Shofner (R) ▌Trey Wharton (R) ▌Angelia Orr (R) ▌Paul Dyson (R) ▌Steve Toth (R) ▌Will Metcalf (R) ▌Stan Gerdes (R) ▌Janis Holt (R) ▌Ellen Troxclair (R) ▌Terry Wilson (R) ▌Dade Phelan (R) ▌Christian Manuel (D) ▌Terri Leo-Wilson (R) ▌Greg Bonnen (R) ▌Cody Vasut (R) ▌Matt Morgan (R) ▌Ron Reynolds (D) ▌Gary Gates (R) ▌Jeffrey Barry (R) ▌AJ Louderback (R) ▌Ryan Guillen (R) ▌Todd Ames Hunter (R) ▌Katrina Pierson (R) ▌Denise Villalobos (R) ▌Oscar Longoria (D) ▌Sergio Muñoz Jr. (D) ▌Janie Lopez (R) ▌Erin Gamez (D) ▌Armando Martinez (D) ▌Terry Canales (D) ▌Robert Guerra (D) ▌Richard Raymond (D) ▌J. M. Lozano (R) ▌Alan Schoolcraft (R) ▌Erin Zwiener (D) ▌Sheryl Cole (D) ▌Vikki Goodwin (D) ▌Donna Howard (D) ▌Gina Hinojosa (D) ▌James Talarico (D) ▌Lulu Flores (D) ▌Caroline Harris Davila (R) ▌Wes Virdell (R) ▌Brad Buckley (R) ▌Hillary Hickland (R) ▌Pat Curry (R) ▌Richard Hayes (R) ▌Helen Kerwin (R) ▌Shelby Slawson (R) ▌Mike Olcott (R) ▌Keresa Richardson (R) ▌Shelley Luther (R) ▌Ben Bumgarner (R) ▌Andy Hopper (R) ▌Mitch Little (R) ▌Matt Shaheen (R) ▌Jeff Leach (R) ▌David Spiller (R) ▌James Frank (R) ▌Mihaela Plesa (D) ▌Stan Lambert (R) ▌Drew Darby (R) ▌Carrie Isaac (R) ▌Eddie Morales (D) ▌Mary González (D) ▌Suleman Lalani (D) ▌Vincent Perez (D) ▌Joe Moody (D) ▌Claudia Ordaz (D) ▌Don McLaughlin (R) ▌Brooks Landgraf (R) ▌Tom Craddick (R) ▌Dustin Burrows (R) ▌Carl Tepper (R) ▌Stan Kitzman (R) ▌John T. Smithee (R) ▌Caroline Fairly (R) ▌Ken King (R) ▌Candy Noble (R) ▌Ramon Romero Jr. (D) ▌David Lowe (R) ▌Salman Bhojani (D) ▌Nate Schatzline (R) ▌Tony Tinderholt (R) ▌Nicole Collier (D) ▌David Cook (R) ▌John McQueeney (R) ▌Giovanni Capriglione (R) ▌Charlie Geren (R) ▌Venton Jones (D) ▌Chris Turner (D) ▌Ana-Maria Ramos (D) ▌Rafael Anchía (D) ▌Jessica González (D) ▌Terry Meza (D) ▌Jared Patterson (R) ▌Linda Garcia (D) ▌Morgan Meyer (R) ▌Aicha Davis (D) ▌Toni Rose (D) ▌Yvonne Davis (D) ▌Angie Chen Button (R) ▌Rhetta Bowers (D) ▌John Bryant (D) ▌Cassandra Hernandez (D) ▌Trey Martinez Fischer (D) ▌Philip Cortez (D) ▌John Lujan (R) ▌Elizabeth Campos (D) ▌Barbara Gervin-Hawkins (D) ▌Marc LaHood (R) ▌Mark Dorazio (R) ▌Diego Bernal (D) ▌Josey Garcia (D) ▌Ray Lopez (D) ▌Sam Harless (R) ▌Charles Cunningham (R) ▌Briscoe Cain (R) ▌Dennis Paul (R) ▌Tom Oliverson (R) ▌Alma Allen (D) ▌Mike Schofield (R) ▌Mano DeAyala (R) ▌Ann Johnson (D) ▌Jon Rosenthal (D) ▌John Bucy III (D) ▌Gene Wu (D) ▌Lacey Hull (R) ▌Charlene Ward Johnson (D) ▌Armando Walle (D) ▌Senfronia Thompson (D) ▌Harold Dutton Jr. (D) ▌Ana Hernandez (D) ▌Mary Ann Perez (D) ▌Christina Morales (D) ▌Lauren Ashley Simmons (D) ▌Jolanda Jones (D) ▌Penny Morales Shaw (D) ▌Hubert Vo (D) ▌Valoree Swanson (R)
▌Republican (88) ▌Democratic (62) Texas Legislature House Senate List of past legislatures

• 1958 births
• Living people
• Republican Party members of the Texas House of Representatives
• People from Grimes County, Texas
• People from Clarksville, Texas
• People from New Boston, Texas
• East Texas A&M University alumni
• School superintendents in Texas
• Baptists from Texas
• Educators from Texas
• 21st-century members of the Texas Legislature