Texas House District 7 2026

Compare candidates running in this Texas federal race. Review their positions, voting records, campaign promises, and donor information.

Corby Heath

Party: Democrat

Melissa Beckett

Party: Republican

Fantasha Allen

Party: Democrat

Jay Dean

Party: Republican

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Texas House District 7

Election: Nov 3, 2026Updated: Apr 10, 2026
📊Polling
No public polling available for general election. Republican primary was decided on March 3, 2026, with incumbent Jay Dean advancing with approximately 55% of the vote (11,851 votes) against Melissa Beckett (9,750 votes).
likely r— Cook Partisan Voter Index (PVI: R+12 in regional context)

District 7 encompasses Gregg, Harrison, and Marion Counties in East Texas. Republicans have controlled this seat since at least 2017. Democrats are unlikely to flip this safe Republican district despite recruiting a candidate for every state House seat in 2026.

Corby HeathD
Melissa BeckettR
Fantasha AllenD
Jay DeanR

Summary

Corby Heath was a Democratic candidate for Texas House District 7 who ran in the primary election on March 3, 2026. Heath received 2,557 votes in the primary, finishing second to Fantasha Allen's 6,376 votes. Limited publicly available information exists about Heath's background and policy platform.

Melissa Beckett is a Republican challenger who ran against incumbent Jay Dean in the Texas House District 7 primary on March 3, 2026. She received 9,750 votes (approximately 45% of the vote), narrowly losing to Dean's 11,851 votes. Beckett is the founder of Texas Education 911, an organization that advocates for education policy changes. She has filed a defamation lawsuit against Dean over his campaign accusations.

Fantasha Allen is a Democratic candidate running for Texas House District 7 in 2026. She advanced from the Democratic primary on March 3, 2026, defeating Corby Heath with 6,376 votes to Heath's 2,557 votes. Allen will face Republican incumbent Jay Dean in the November general election.

Jay Dean is a Republican incumbent who has represented Texas House District 7 since 2017. He served as Mayor of Longview for ten years and on the Longview City Council for five years prior to his legislative service. Dean was born March 5, 1953, in Opelousas, Louisiana, and earned his Bachelor of Arts from Louisiana State University. He is a business owner in the oil and gas industry.

View Corby Heath's Full Profile →View Melissa Beckett's Full Profile →View Fantasha Allen's Full Profile →View Jay Dean's Full Profile →

Campaign Promises

No campaign promises listed yet.

Economy
  • Eliminate property taxes
  • Reduce government spending
Education
  • Return education control to local school districts
Other
  • Protect water rights and limit water exports
Education
  • Expanding access to affordable education and job training
Other
  • Supporting working parents and single mothers
Justice
  • Strengthening community safety while ensuring fairness and justice
Defense
  • Border security and immigration reform
Economy
  • Property tax reform
  • Insurance cost reduction
  • Economic development through sales tax growth

Key Issue Positions

No key issues listed yet.

Property taxation
Eliminate property taxes
Beckett's primary focus is eliminating what she calls the 'ownership tax scam' and restoring private ownership rights.
Education policy
Return control to local school districts and parents
Beckett believes the Texas Education Agency adds no value to local school districts and wants to empower local control of curriculum and discipline decisions.
Water rights
Protect East Texas water rights and prevent large exports
Beckett advocates for strong protections of water rights and believes this is a 'liberty issue.' She wants to limit state power over water resources.
Government size and spending
Reduce government size and trim budgets at all levels
Beckett emphasizes cutting government spending and returning a higher percentage of state sales tax to local entities.
Conservative values
Protect traditional and conservative values
Beckett's platform emphasizes concerns about gender identity policies in schools, maintaining standards in education, and preventing what she views as 'rioting' and erosion of decency in communities.
Education and economic opportunity
Expand affordable education and job training access
Allen emphasizes the need for better educational and economic development opportunities in the district.
Family support
Support working families with tangible resources
Allen focuses on helping single mothers and working parents succeed.
Community safety and justice
Balance safety with fair and equitable justice
Allen advocates for community safety while ensuring fair treatment under the law.
Immigration
Enforce legal immigration processes
Dean believes workers and expertise from immigrants are needed but must come through legal channels. He supports completing the southern border wall and fixing immigration loopholes.
Property Taxes
Eliminate or significantly reduce property taxes
Dean filed several bills last session to eliminate property taxes while maintaining funding for rural public schools.
Education
Support public education funding
Dean advocates for maintaining strong financial support for rural public schools while addressing property tax burdens.
Gun Rights
Protect Second Amendment
Dean has an 'A' rating from the NRA Political Victory Fund.

Top Donors

No donor data available.

Sherrie Arnold
$2,500Individual
Individual from House District 7
Brian Fitzgerald
$5,000Individual
Individual from House District 7
Barbara Glock
$4,000Individual
Individual from House District 7
Mark Smith
$500Individual
Individual from House District 7
Jarland Donnell
$500Individual
Individual from House District 7

No donor data available.

Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows
$10,000Individual
Campaign-to-campaign contribution
Texans for Truth and Liberty PAC
$10,000Industry PAC
Texas SANDS PAC
$29,000Industry PAC
Texas Conservative Majority PAC
$42,750Super PAC
In-kind contributions for canvassing
American Property Casualty Insurance Association PAC
$5,000Industry PAC
Associated General Contractors of Texas PAC
$5,000Industry PAC
Texas REALTORS PAC
$5,000Industry PAC

Contradictions

No contradictions documented.

Claim: Jay Dean accused Beckett of wanting to eliminate the Texas Teacher Retirement System
Contradiction: Beckett stated she has not been affiliated with Texas Education 911 since 2023 and denies any desire to touch teacher retirement: 'I have no desire to touch [teacher] retirement. Shame on you JAY DEAN!' She filed a defamation lawsuit against Dean over these claims.

No contradictions documented.

Claim: Dean accused Melissa Beckett of wanting to eliminate the Texas Teacher Retirement System
Contradiction: Beckett's organization (Texas Education 911) may have posted critical content about public education, but Beckett stated she has not been affiliated with the organization since 2023 and has never advocated for eliminating the retirement system. She filed a defamation lawsuit against Dean over these claims.

What Opponents Say

No opponent claims documented.

Jay Dean

Beckett's organization (Texas Education 911) has called for elimination of the Texas Teacher Retirement System

Dean posted screenshots from Texas Education 911 posts criticizing public education policies and linked them to Beckett's candidacy

Jay Dean

Beckett founded Texas Education 911 and still promotes it in campaign materials

Dean argues Beckett's ongoing promotion of the organization makes her responsible for its positions, even though she claims to have distanced herself

No opponent claims documented.

Melissa Beckett

Dean is weaponizing teachers and using them with a lie to try to win an election

In response to Dean's accusations that Beckett wanted to eliminate the Texas Teacher Retirement System

Melissa Beckett

The government has gotten so huge it requires $338 billion every two years to run

Beckett arguing for government spending reduction and local control

Endorsements

No endorsements listed.

No endorsements listed.

No endorsements listed.

Governor Greg Abbottindividual
President Donald Trumpindividual
Texas State Rifle Associationorganization
Texas Alliance for Lifeorganization
National Federation of Independent Businessesorganization
NRA Political Victory Fundorganization