Terri Leo-Wilson

From Ballotpedia
Terri Leo-Wilson
Candidate, Texas House of Representatives District 23
Texas House of Representatives District 23
Tenure
2023 - Present
Term ends
2027
Years in position
3
Predecessor:Mayes Middleton (R)
Compensation
Base salary
$7,200/year
Per diem
$221/day
Elections and appointments
Last election
November 5, 2024
Next election
March 3, 2026
Education
Bachelor's
University of North Dakota, 1982
Graduate
Texas A&M Commerce, 1988
Personal
Birthplace
Worthington, MN
Religion
Born Again Christian
Profession
Teacher
Contact

Terri Leo-Wilson (Republican Party) is a member of theTexas House of Representatives, representingDistrict 23. She assumed office on January 10, 2023. Her current term ends on January 12, 2027.

Leo-Wilson (Republican Party) is running for re-election to theTexas House of Representatives to representDistrict 23. She is on the ballot in the Republican primary onMarch 3, 2026.[source]

Biography

Terri Leo-Wilson was born inWorthington, Minnesota. She earned a bachelor's degree from the University of North Dakota in 1982 and a graduate degree from the Texas A&M Commerce in 1988. Her career experience includes working as a teacher.[1]

Sponsored legislation

The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according toBillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.


Committee assignments

2023-2024

Leo-Wilson was assigned to the following committees:


Elections

2026

See also: Texas House of Representatives elections, 2026

General election

The primary will occur on March 3, 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.

Democratic primary

The candidate list in this election may not be complete.

Democratic primary for Texas House of Representatives District 23

Cheryl Clark (D) andSean Foley (D) are running in the Democratic primary for Texas House of Representatives District 23 on March 3, 2026.

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There are noincumbents in this race.

Candidate Connection = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary

The candidate list in this election may not be complete.

Republican primary for Texas House of Representatives District 23

IncumbentTerri Leo-Wilson (R) andNathan Watkins (R) are running in the Republican primary for Texas House of Representatives District 23 on March 3, 2026.

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Incumbents arebolded and underlined.

Candidate Connection = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Endorsements

Leo-Wilson received the following endorsements. To send us additional endorsements,click here.

2024

See also: Texas House of Representatives elections, 2024

General election

General election for Texas House of Representatives District 23

IncumbentTerri Leo-Wilson defeatedDev Merugumala in the general election for Texas House of Representatives District 23 on November 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Terri Leo-Wilson
Terri Leo-Wilson (R)
 
66.9
 
53,841
Image of Dev Merugumala
Dev Merugumala (D) Candidate Connection
 
33.1
 
26,680

Ballotpedia Logo

Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 80,521
Candidate Connection = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Texas House of Representatives District 23

Dev Merugumala advanced from the Democratic primary for Texas House of Representatives District 23 on March 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Dev Merugumala
Dev Merugumala Candidate Connection
 
100.0
 
4,385

Ballotpedia Logo

There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 4,385
Candidate Connection = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Texas House of Representatives District 23

IncumbentTerri Leo-Wilson advanced from the Republican primary for Texas House of Representatives District 23 on March 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Terri Leo-Wilson
Terri Leo-Wilson
 
100.0
 
16,093

Ballotpedia Logo

Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 16,093
Candidate Connection = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Campaign finance

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Leo-Wilson in this election.

Pledges

Leo-Wilson signed the following pledges.

  • U.S. Term Limits

2022

See also: Texas House of Representatives elections, 2022

General election

General election for Texas House of Representatives District 23

Terri Leo-Wilson defeatedKeith Henry in the general election for Texas House of Representatives District 23 on November 8, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Terri Leo-Wilson
Terri Leo-Wilson (R) Candidate Connection
 
63.8
 
35,559
Image of Keith Henry
Keith Henry (D) Candidate Connection
 
36.2
 
20,192

Ballotpedia Logo

There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 55,751
Candidate Connection = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary runoff election

Republican primary runoff for Texas House of Representatives District 23

Terri Leo-Wilson defeatedPatrick Gurski in the Republican primary runoff for Texas House of Representatives District 23 on May 24, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Terri Leo-Wilson
Terri Leo-Wilson Candidate Connection
 
57.7
 
5,224
Patrick Gurski
 
42.3
 
3,835

Ballotpedia Logo

There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 9,059
Candidate Connection = candidate completed theBallotpedia 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.

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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Texas House of Representatives District 23

Keith Henry advanced from the Democratic primary for Texas House of Representatives District 23 on March 1, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Keith Henry
Keith Henry Candidate Connection
 
100.0
 
5,350

Ballotpedia Logo

There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 5,350
Candidate Connection = candidate completed theBallotpedia 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 election

Republican primary for Texas House of Representatives District 23

Patrick Gurski andTerri Leo-Wilson advanced to a runoff. They defeatedAbel Longoria andGina Smith in the Republican primary for Texas House of Representatives District 23 on March 1, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔Patrick Gurski
 
31.4
 
5,236
✔
Image of Terri Leo-Wilson
Terri Leo-Wilson Candidate Connection
 
28.1
 
4,690
Abel Longoria
 
22.0
 
3,670
Image of Gina Smith
Gina Smith
 
18.5
 
3,084

Ballotpedia Logo

There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 16,680
Candidate Connection = candidate completed theBallotpedia 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.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Campaign finance

Endorsements

To view Leo-Wilson's endorsements in the 2022 election, pleaseclick here.

Campaign themes

2026

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also:Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Candidate Connection

Terri Leo-Wilson has not yet completedBallotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey.If you are Terri Leo-Wilson,click here to fill out Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey.

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2024

Terri Leo-Wilson did not completeBallotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

2022

Candidate Connection

Terri Leo-Wilson completedBallotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Leo-Wilson's responses.

Expand all |Collapse all

Terri graduated Summa Cum Laude with degrees in Elementary and Special Education, and received a MS in Educational Administration from Texas A&M University. She is currently retired having been a Teacher, Case Manager, and Department Administrator for middle school students with special needs in Texas public schools. Terri was elected to three terms on the State Board of Education (SBOE ) where she served without pay or staff, serving approximately 2 million constituents. She served as the Vice Chairman of the Board, Chairman of the Instruction Committee and she served as Chairman of the Texas State Teacher of the Year Selection Committee. For Terri's work on writing curriculum ensuring that students understood the benefits of the free-enterprise system she received the The American Exceptionalism Award from Americans for Prosperity. Terri also received the Faithful Servant Award from the US Pastor's Counsel, Protector of the Family Award from the Foundation for Life, and the Texas Family Advocate of the Year Award from Concerned Women For America. Terri has a wealth of leadership experience in bringing people together in healthy discourse. Terri and her husband Dave have five children and four grandchildren.
  • Phase out property taxes altogether and move toward a 7%consumption tax. We will never own our houses if we don’t. Our government requires that we either pay perpetual rent on the property we “own” or face prosecution. Which ensures we never really own it at all. Small businesses have silently gone out of business when they can no longer afford to stay in business. And when businesses go away, there goes our tax base that supports our community. Young Couples and Seniors are priced out of homes. We have been promised property tax relief for 20 years and it never happens. We have an unelected appraisal board that answers to the taxing jurisdictions that appoints them. They have forgotten that the government works for us the tax-payers.
  • Education Reform: When local schools fail children, parents are obligated to withdraw their child. Parents need a choice. More charters should be granted. The money should follow the student. Where there has been competition for dollars, the local public school also raises the bar. Educational funding should follow students not systems. We need to better prepare students for the future. Emphasis needs to be on basic skills in the foundation of reading, math, science and history. Vocational skills for some and dual credit for others.
  • Texans need to secure the border and then sue the federal government for reimbursement. We cannot afford to wait on the Federal Gov’t. Funds have been already set aside for this from the legislature - it is there, we need to use it. Illegal immigration is a front to all tax paying law-abiding citizens and people who enter legally. We have created an underground economy where labor payments are made in cash, not subject to taxation and putting honest businesses at a disadvantage. The addition damage to our society, in the cost of human trafficking and drug smuggling, has been devastating to the moral fabric of our nation. We have no Nation w/o a Border.
Education

Election Integrity
Property Tax Elimination/Relief
TWIA Reform
Ban Taxpayer Funded Lobbying

Close The Border


Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. He came from humble beginnings and became a brilliant scholar because of his strong work ethic and faith in God. He persevered through hardships with courage.
The state legislature makes the law, while the governor is responsible for implementing state laws and overseeing the operation of the state executive branch. The two branches should work together in order to determine what the best policies are that will benefit the people they serve.

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.

Note: Leo-Wilson submitted the above survey responses to Ballotpedia on October 27, 2022.

January 12 submission

Terri Leo Wilson is a Christian and lifelong conservative Republican running to be our next state representative in House District 23. With over twelve years of public votes on the State Board of Education and the State Republican Executive Committee (SREC), Terri is the only candidate in the race with a proven conservative record.
  • Lower our property taxes
  • Secure the border
  • Keep liberal indoctrination and "Critical Race Theory" out of our schools
A retired public school teacher and former member of the State Board of Education, Terri is passionate about education and ensuring the next generation has the tools they need to succeed. She has spent hours without pay or staff reading through textbooks to ensure our state’s instructional materials and curriculum represents the values of Texas parents. We can trust Terri will fight back against ‘Critical Race Theory’ and liberal indoctrination in the classroom.

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.

Note: Leo-Wilson submitted the above survey responses to Ballotpedia on January 12, 2022.

Campaign finance summary

Ballotpedia LogoNote: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf.Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at theFEC website. Clickhere for more on federal campaign finance law andhere for more on state campaign finance law.

Terri Leo-Wilson campaign contribution history
YearOfficeStatusContributionsExpenditures
2024Texas House of Representatives District 23Won general$46,569 $20,281
2022Texas House of Representatives District 23Won general$968,815 $270,904
Grand total$1,015,384 $291,185
Sources:OpenSecrets, Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

Scorecards

See also:State legislative scorecards andState legislative scorecards in Texas

Ascorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.

Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.

Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Texas scorecards, email suggestions toeditor@ballotpedia.org.


2024

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2024, click [show].   

In 2024, theTexas State Legislature was not in session.


2023

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2023, click [show].   

In 2023, theTexas State Legislature was in session from January 10 to May 29.

Legislators are scored based by the organization on their votes on bills relating to "core budget and free enterprise issues."
Legislators are scored based on their votes on bills relating to taxes and property rights.
Legislators are scored on bills related to reproductive health issues.
Legislators are scored on their votes on environmental issues.
Legislators are scored on their votes on social issues.
Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
Legislators are scored on their adherence to the limited government principles of the U.S. Constitution.













See also


External links

Candidate

Texas House of Representatives District 23

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    Texas House of Representatives District 23

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    • Footnotes

    1. ↑Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on October 27, 2022

    Political offices
    Preceded by
    Mayes Middleton (R)    		Texas House of Representatives District 23
    2023-Present    		Succeeded by
    -


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