Editor’s Note: The interview took place via Zoom on 3/11/24. Below is a transcription of the interview, which has been lightly edited for clarity. Hillary Hickland is the Republican nominee for Texas House District (HD) 55— a district in central Texas that includes a part of Bell County. She defeated incumbent State Representative Hugh Shine in the March 5th primary and garnered 53.1% of the vote. She is a wife and mother of four. She currently lives in Belton, Texas, and she previously worked as a Crisis Pregnancy Center Mentor. Hickland will face Democrat Jennifer Lee in the November 5th, 2024 election. Her website can be found at hillaryhickland.com.
Garrit: To start the interview, I wanted to talk about the election on March 5th. You ran against and defeated incumbent State Representative Hugh Shine. Can you speak about why you’re running for state representative, and can you provide a bit of background on the race for those who might not be familiar with the race?
Hillary: I think the biggest reason that I ran is I was really tired of seeing my district not have effective representation that reflected our community values. I mean, that’s overall the reason. I am a mom of four, and it’s family issues that get me out of my house. Those are the issues that I care about. For me, I’m really passionate about education. So when we started to encounter all the garbage coming at our kids from public school, I tried to affect change within the system. I spoke to administration, I went to the school board, and [talked mostly about] sexually explicit and age inappropriate books. There were other things I wasn’t thrilled about, curriculum [and] some things that were being presented to our kids, but those are a little bit tougher battles to fight. It seemed to me that blatant pornography [was shown] in our public schools, including our middle schools. Kids as young as 11, they [were] exposed to narratives that were obvious violations of the Texas penal code [and] the Texas Education Code. [These things] clearly did not belong in our schools— not educationally suitable at all. I really thought that as soon as adults in positions of power found out, that they would do the right thing and protect our kids. But what I found was that they actually marginalized me and called me a book banner and a homophobe because some of these narratives included characters from marginalized communities. But truly, that is a sub-issue. That was almost a distraction when it comes to sexually explicit, age inappropriate material. So, not being able to get anywhere, I went to my representative and I asked for help. At that point, I’m just a mom, heartbroken for what our kids are being exposed to. [I] just poured out my heart and was met with “Okay, well just keep doing what you’re doing and we’ll talk to the school board.” The process took like nine months. Maybe seven books were challenged in nine months or something. I’m forgetting the details, but [it was a] very long process. All the onus was on the parents. Also, it’s not comfortable to put yourself out there. So other parents agreed with me, but they didn’t necessarily want to be out on the forefront of the issue. So anyway, I kept coming against a brick wall, and I decided that if we were going to get any change, I needed to go to Austin every week. And that’s what I did. I knocked on doors, I started to educate myself on policy and the legislative process, [I] went to several forums from TPPF [Texas Public Policy Foundation] to anything that I found out about and started lobbying on my own, just knocking on doors saying, “Hey, we need help. We have a problem” and connecting with other moms that were experiencing the same problem. It wasn’t just my community, it was actually an issue all across Texas. Through those efforts, I earned a position to serve on the subcommittee for the Republican Party of Texas to stop sexualizing Texas kids. That was very helpful to me in engaging in that legislative process. We were consulted on legislation and invited [to testify] for legislation. Some days I would be up there till two o’clock in the morning waiting to testify for the bill. [It] also connected [me] with other like minded constituents, other voters and parents seeing the same issue. Essentially, I started to realize that our problems with education were a lot bigger than just the books. Seeing that school choice was the solution to our education crisis. I mean, our outcomes in Texas public schools are horrific. [In] Belton ISD, we graduate 97% of kids, but less than 50% can read or do math on grade level. I mean, that’s serious. And that’s not unique for Texas. I remember sitting in some hearing rooms where state universities were asking education committees for funding for onboarding classes for incoming freshmen because they weren’t cutting it. A lot of freshmen were failing that first year. The response was, essentially, “No, we already paid for that education once.” We spend so much money on public education in Texas… School choice is the solution. For our family, public school wasn’t right, but the only people that have options are those who can afford it. I think that’s wrong when it comes to education and parents wanting what’s best and good and right for their kids. For most parents, it’ll still be public schools. That’s great. I’m not against public school, [and I’m] definitely not against educators. But seeing that, we’ve got to do better, and we’ve got to focus on the students. Schools are there to educate students. If we’re not doing that, we have a major problem. So, I was already up there advocating for school choice and kept hitting the same brick wall— that was my representative. It didn’t make sense to me either because all the data shows that school choice is a good thing. In our district, it was a resolution in 2012. The primary voters in our district voted in favor of school choice 84%. Then again, in 2020, to 88%. That doesn’t make sense when, essentially, the constituents sovereignty is being usurped, voters are not being represented. That’s who sent him there, and what are you doing? It shouldn’t be that hard too. I mean, we have a Republican majority in the House and the Senate and the Governor. Why is this hard when we clearly want it? Recognizing at that point that I’m gonna have to primary him myself, I got the support from my husband and from then on it was every day moving forward towards this crazy goal, but it definitely felt much bigger than me in the regard that doors are open to me that I didn’t think should have normally been opened but they just were. So I just continued to move forward, step by step, over the course of essentially a year, and it sent me to this point where we secured a victory.
Garrit: Why do you think you won, and were you surprised that you won outright and avoided a runoff?
Hillary: I wasn’t surprised. The face to face interaction I was having with my community members and voters— I mean, I knocked on over 1,600 doors myself— was like, “Yes, we need some change. Thank you so much for running. We’re praying for you. How can we donate to you?” It was seriously the most encouraging thing. It was my favorite to interact with voters face to face. That was the best part of campaigning. So I wasn’t surprised. But after I won, so many people came up to me and they were like, “Yeah, we didn’t think you had a chance.” Well, thanks for not telling me that because I always thought I had a chance. Also the support of the governor was huge. He believed in me… he knew me, and he was so generous with his resources. [He came] to Bell County three times on my behalf. [It] was huge, because, as someone without an elected official history, that gave me a lot of credibility, and the governor is so highly regarded in our district that his endorsement went a long way. Without that, I think it would have been much more difficult.
Garrit: Going forward to November, what do you say to those who didn’t support you in the primary and supported Shine?
Hillary: Oh, I am not resentful. There’s no bitterness. I mean, everyone is wanting what’s best and right for our community. Actually, my current focus is connecting with those people and hopefully earning their support, sharing my heart with them, listening to their concerns, and helping them see that I am an effective advocate. I took my issue that was affecting me and my family, and now we have a law. We have the Reader Act. I was very involved with that. Now we have mandatory library standards in public school libraries. I also developed some solid relationships in the House and the Senate and with the governor that I know can be effective in advocating for the legislation that matters for our district. Helping people see that I think will make the difference. It’s a lot easier to move forward when you win in those relationships. So I’m not upset at all. I respect everyone’s freedom to choose who they feel like would be the best representative. But hopefully, they can see that in me.
Garrit: As touched on previously, educational freedom and parental empowerment are big priorities for the governor and were big issues for many races on March 5th, including your race, and many anti-school choice incumbents either lost or were forced into a runoff. What are your thoughts on the election as a whole, and how are you feeling about the next legislative session?
Hillary: Well, the voters spoke clearly and powerfully. I think they came out to show what they care about. They are tired of their voice not being heard. They are ready for effective representation that reflects their values. They’re frustrated with not having their priorities move forward. It really should not have taken a regular session and four special sessions to do the business of the state. Why did it take so long to get a border bill or get property tax relief? I think they [said] that they’re ready for better representation. There’s a huge shift, right? I mean, first of all, so many races had challengers. In a lot of those races, the challenger won. That’s just remarkable, because incumbents are re-elected at the rate of— what— 94%. Those are mountains to climb as a challenger and so many districts had the challenger overcome the incumbent. I think it just shows that Texans recognize how serious our situation is right now with things on the border [and] high property taxes. So far, we’ve talked a lot about education, but a lot of these issues [also] have to do with family issues. When it comes to your family, you’re willing to put things on the line and to get out and vote and make your voice heard or do something crazy, like challenge an incumbent. You’re willing to put things on the line for what matters the most, and family values are on the line. So I anticipate seeing that kind of a shift. I think it’d be really interesting seeing such a large group of newcomers coming into the House [and] how that dynamic plays into the next session moving forward. I think it’ll be really fascinating to be a part of, hopefully I have to get through November and don’t want to take anything for granted, [the Texas House]. But yeah, it’s a really fascinating time in Texas politics for sure.
Garrit: Speaker Dade Phelan was also forced into a runoff with David Covey. If Phelan wins the runoff and wins again in November, and you were to win and be a state representative, would you support him as Speaker?
Hillary: It’s so hard to say. That is a very difficult question to answer, mostly because there’s so many hypotheticals in that, and it’s not looking too good for him right now. At least, when I look at the race, I really can’t say. That is such a huge hypothetical that I can’t speak to it. I saw Caroline Fairly, who I don’t know very well yet, but I just love what she said. She said, “I can’t promise what I’ll do. But I can promise who I am” or something like that. I can’t tell you what I’ll do, but I can tell you who I am, and I’m someone who cares about Texas, who cares about unifying the party, and getting quality, strong, solid legislation passed for my district that reflects our values and our priorities.
Garrit: Some Republicans think that Speaker Phelan has inhibited the passage of a lot of good conservative legislation. Do you think that’s the case?
Hillary: You know, I saw a lot of maneuvering throughout the whole legislative session that was really eye opening. Not in all aspects, really. So I think I have a unique advantage just from being in the Capitol. [By] observing, working on a subcommittee, waiting for bills to be scheduled, hoping that they would [pass], seeing points of order, [I’ve learned that] there are so many aspects to the legislative process that can get in the way. I think it just showed how important it is to be unified with other Republicans and focused on passing quality legislation that the voters are asking for. That’s what they’re sending us there to do. We really needed to go get the job done, and then get home.
Garrit: Moving the focus to some policy issues, your support for ESAs [Educational Savings Accounts] and parental empowerment is quite clear. But could you speak about why you support ESAs and why you think it’s an important policy for the state to pursue?
Hillary: Well, we have an education crisis, and public school is not right for all families. But the only families that have options are those who can afford it. When it comes to education, that’s wrong.
Garrit: Some opponents of ESAs say that they will defund public schools or destroy the communities that they may provide to small towns or that there’s no accountability for the funds. What do you say to those criticisms?
Hillary: Well, we don’t have to guess. There are 30 other states that currently have school choice in some form. In those places, no schools have been defunded. In fact, the public schools have gotten better. Outcomes have increased. So we can actually look at what the other states have done. To me, that makes me a little sad, because Texas is meant to lead but right now we’re behind on this one. We have a lot to catch up on. We can see that school choice is the way forward in education. In regards to the arguments against it, those things are all based in fear and control. I think we have to look at where it’s coming from too. They’re coming from groups or individuals who currently benefit from the status quo. But on the other side, you have parents who want what’s right for their children, and they’re motivated by love and sacrifice. So when you break it down, who gets a say as to what’s right for our kids’ future? Is it the education industry, or is it parents? And I think we can all agree that we’ve got to choose parents every time.
Garrit: On your website, you list that you want to, “limit what children can access on social media, particularly from sexual predators and big tech.” Could you speak more about this?
Hillary: Well, access to information. Prior to kids being developmentally able to handle some of this content or influences can really affect their development. I think we see that there is a mental health crisis in our kids. There are some studies that I’ve seen [that] have shown a direct correlation with smartphones and social media. That’s something that we don’t really talk about too much. But if we take a step back, and also, I think years from now, we’ll see that that was a real factor. [We need to make] sure that we protect our children from harmful materials and harmful content. The state has a vested interest to protect our kids.
Garrit: What do you think are some steps Texas can do to protect kids and deal with this issue?
Hillary: Well, we’ve already required a third party age verification for adult websites. I think that was a great start, and the Attorney General has just recently sued— what I believe it was— Porn Hub for not enforcing that. Our laws are only as good as their enforcement. So [we need to make] sure that [we are enforcing] the good legislation that we have.
Garrit: On this topic, what are your thoughts on banning TikTok?
Hillary: Yeah, I know that there’s a lot of talk about it. Here’s what I think. We have to own our privacy and our data. And recognizing that data can be used against us is a huge problem, not just for TikTok but across the board. Not everybody’s our friend, and we need to be aware of that and protect our citizens from influences that are looking to harm us.
Garrit: As you campaign around your district, what are some other issues that voters think are important?
Hillary: Border, far and away. Number one. Everyone is concerned with border security a lot. And if we don’t deal with that, then none of this other stuff is gonna matter. So border security is huge. The other issue was property taxes. [The] cost of living is a very heavy burden that’s affecting everyone. Whether you own a home or rent, it is a factor and it’s burdensome.
Garrit: What more do you think the state can do regarding border security, because a large problem is that the federal government is not enforcing the laws?
Hillary: Well, we have the constitutional right to protect our borders. I’m so grateful that Governor Abbott is willing to take a stand against Biden when he is working against us, actively working against us to protect our own borders. So, I support Governor Abbott and the physical borders that he has put in place. I support him in having a border security force. He just recently announced that he was setting up a forward operating base at the border because this is a long term issue. It’s not going away. We definitely have to establish permanent sovereignty of our southern border.
Garrit: Do you have any final things you’d like to say as we conclude the interview?
Hillary: I’m just very grateful for my community, for them voting for me, supporting me, and entrusting me with this opportunity.
