From classroom to capitol: Union leader challenges lawmaker in November election

HOUSTON - A veteran teacher’s long-standing conflict with the Houston Independent School District has escalated from school board meetings to a high-stakes campaign for the Texas Legislature.

Meet the candidate - Michelle Williams 

Michelle Williams, an educator with nearly 30 years of experience and a union leader, has secured the Democratic nomination for Texas House District 127. Williams, who became a vocal critic of HISD’s recent policy shifts under state-appointed leadership, faced two termination recommendations from the school board following public clashes with the district. However, independent hearing examiners have ruled against those dismissals. 

Williams won the March 3 primary with approximately 16,000 votes, setting up a November challenge against incumbent Republican State Rep. Charles Cunningham.

Cunningham, a U.S. Army veteran and former president of the Humble ISD Board of Trustees, was elected to the state House in 2022. He currently serves on the House Public Education Committee, where he has helped to advance the very policies Williams has protested at the local level.

"The governor and the commissioner of education are allowing bills to be passed that are actually strangling the life out of public education," Williams said in a FOX 26 interview. "Make no mistake, we do need some changes... but destroying public education will destroy other facets of our life."

Meet the incumbent - Charles Cunningham

Cunningham, who secured over 14,000 votes in March, has been a staunch advocate for school choice, a centerpiece of Abbott's recent term in office. During a House committee hearing in March 2025, Cunningham drew a parallel between the modern school choice movement and the 1957 integration battles, framing both as issues of parental rights. Governor Abbott posted his comment on X. 

"We all know what 1957 was about. 1957 was about school choice," Cunningham said during the hearing. "The court got it wrong with integration... The same group that's fighting it then, is fighting it now."

Cunningham has also shown his support in the legislature for multiple issues, such as public safety, border security, improving infrastructure and pro-life values.

District 127, which includes Humble, Kingwood and Atascocita, has been a Republican stronghold for over a decade.

Cunningham’s office did not respond to multiple requests for comment following the primary.

The general election is scheduled for Nov. 3.