Abigail Gray
Abigail Gray (Democratic Party) ran for election to the Texas State Board of Education to represent District 5. She lost in the Democratic primary on March 3, 2026.
Gray completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Abigail Gray earned a bachelor's degree in elementary education from LeTourneau University in 2017 and a master's degree in curriculum and instructional design from the University of Texas in 2023. Her career experience includes working as a graduate research assistant, curriculum reviewer, instructional coach, and third-grade teacher. Gray has also reported on Texas education policy through social media and podcasting.[1]
Elections
2026
See also: Texas State Board of Education election, 2026
General election
The primary will occur on May 26, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. General election candidates will be added here following the primary.
The candidate list in this election may not be complete.
General election for Texas State Board of Education District 5
Mica Arellano (R) is running in the general election for Texas State Board of Education District 5 on November 3, 2026.
Candidate | ||
| Mica Arellano (R) | ||
| ||||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary runoff
The candidate list in this election may not be complete.
Democratic primary runoff for Texas State Board of Education District 5
Stephanie Bazan (D) and Allison Bush (D) are running in the Democratic primary runoff for Texas State Board of Education District 5 on May 26, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Stephanie Bazan | |
 | Allison Bush | |
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary
The candidate list in this election may not be complete.
Democratic primary for Texas State Board of Education District 5
The following candidates ran in the Democratic primary for Texas State Board of Education District 5 on March 3, 2026.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Allison Bush | 35.6 | 83,648 |
| ✔ | | Stephanie Bazan | 21.0 | 49,407 |
 | Abigail Gray | 13.8 | 32,394 | |
 | Kevin Jackson | 13.7 | 32,185 | |
 | Neto Longoria | 10.7 | 25,156 | |
 | Victor Sampson | 5.3 | 12,455 | |
| Total votes: 235,245 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary
The candidate list in this election may not be complete.
Republican primary for Texas State Board of Education District 5
Mica Arellano (R) advanced from the Republican primary for Texas State Board of Education District 5 on March 3, 2026.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Mica Arellano | 100.0 | 78,523 | |
| Total votes: 78,523 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Endorsements
Ballotpedia is gathering information about candidate endorsements. To send us an endorsement, click here.
Campaign themes
2026
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Abigail Gray completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Gray's responses.
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- Educators and students deserve access to useful and high-quality instructional material, free from ideological bias. SBOE members should be able to rely on their own expertise in the field of education, as well as the reports of review committees, when choosing instructional materials to adopt for Texas. My 7 years of public school teaching and instructional coaching, specialization in curriculum and instruction, and experience reviewing curriculum for the State Board of Education, put me in a prime position to make well-informed and educated adoption decisions. I plan to take an active role in analyzing submitted instructional materials and push for revisions to be made when materials do not meet the high standards we expect.
- When new knowledge and skill standards are developed, they should reflect the learning needs of students, not the ideological agendas of specific groups. I will vote for committee experts who prioritize data and evidence-based research over personal ideologies and contribute to standard development with my own insight into grade-appropriate standards. My focus is on ensuring that our state standards focus on knowledge and skills that educators, community members, and experts agree are essential to equip students for their lives ahead. This in itself is a massive task, and we have no time to waste on sneaking in partisan distractions.
- The SBOE makes critical decisions that impact every public school, but the process often moves so quickly that the public is left out. I plan to act as a bridge between the board and the community, using my media platforms to research and report on the board's complex inner workings in real-time. By announcing opportunities for public involvement and breaking down board actions, I will ensure that parents and educators have the transparency they need to have their voices truly represented.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
Campaign website
Gray's campaign website stated the following:
My Priorities
Thoroughly Vet and Approve High Quality Instructional Materials
Why it Matters: When the State Board of Education adopts instructional materials, schools receive extra funding for using them.
These materials are approved and adopted for an 8-12 year period.
Schools should be able to trust that the SBOE and its reviewers have micro-analyzed these materials before they are adopted for this extensive amount of time.
What it looks like:
🔍 Delving into materials myself to analyze instructional quality
📑 Using data and analysis from the experts hired to review materials
✅ Recommending adjustments to how instructional materials are rated to make sure lessons are using principles of the science of learning
Fight for Academic Standards Backed by Experts, Not Ideology
Why it Matters: The standards for a subject area are analyzed and revised about every 8-15 years. Teachers are required to teach all of the standards for their grade level- also known as TEKS.
Curriculum experts, educators, and community members weigh in on how the TEKS should be changed.
The SBOE elects experts to lead committees to make these changes.
What it looks like:
🗳️ Voting for committee experts who make decisions based on data and the science of learning, rather than their own ideologies
🗓️ Staying up to date with committee discussions and suggestions
📑 Make recommendations based on my knowledge of appropriate grade-level standards
Make the Decisions and Inner Workings of the SBOE Transparent
Why it Matters: The SBOE's decisions impact families, students, and educators across Texas. The public deserves to have its thoughts represented in the decision-making process.
Opportunities to get involved exist, but are often not well publicized.
The SBOE makes decisions quickly, and the public often does not realize it until after the vote.
What it looks like:
💻 Utilizing my media platforms to make information accessible to the public
📑 Researching and reporting on complex processes of the SBOE
🎤 Announcing opportunities for the public to get involved in decision-making
🗒️ Breaking down actions taken by the board during SBOE meetings
— Abigail Gray's campaign website (January 16, 2026)
Campaign finance summary
Campaign finance information for this candidate is not yet available from OpenSecrets. That information will be published here once it is available.
See also
2026 Elections
External links
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Candidate Texas State Board of Education District 5 |
Personal |
Footnotes
