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| Averie Bishop entering politics? |
Bishop, a Filipino American born in the Lone Star state, gave up her crown last June after reigning as the first Asian American winner of the Miss Texas Miss America in the pageant's 85-year history.
Bishop, 26, filed as a Democratic candidate in Texas House District 112, north of Dallas Tuesday. If she survives the Democratic primary, she would face Rep. Angie Chen Button, a Republican who has served the Northeast Dallas district since 2009.
Neither Button or Bishop issued any immediate statements after the San Antonio Express-News first broke the news of Bishop's intentions.
To her more than 800,000 TikTok followers, Bishop has posted videos calling for enhanced sex education at Texas schools, criticizing the policies of state leaders following the Uvalde mass shooting and calling for enhanced access to abortions.
Bishop, a former intern for US Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, a Houston Democrat, further hinted at her political aspirations in a TikTok video posted Tuesday, saying she'd been "researching running for public office" — which she notes is an expensive undertaking.
"In conclusion, we just need more normal people to run for office: people who have student loans, like myself; people who are living month-to-month, for example; people who are teachers," she says in the video. "We need normal people to run so that we can change the system from within."
As her reign as Miss Texas was coming to a close this Spring, the law grad from Southern Methodist University, became more vocal about her politically progressive leanings and hinted at a possible future in political office.
In an opinion article published by MSNBC, Bishop wrote: "I also know that if our politicians continue to shut out, ignore and oppress marginalized and minority Texans, the state will never become the socio-economic and political powerhouse it wants to become."
Bishop concluded: "I became Miss Texas to advocate for the people of color, immigrants and LGTBQ people who hold up every community from Galveston to Waco. Now more than ever, it is crucial to hold our leaders and institutions accountable. And I think most Texans agree with me."
Texas Republicans, who hold the reins of power in the state legislature and the governorship, gerrymandered the state's political districts after the 202 Census to favor GOP candidates and divided districts that held a majority Democratic advantage. That was the case in District 112 where Button in 2022 successfully beat back a challenge from Democrat.
Traditionally, Miss Texas does a publicity stunt that involves skinning snakes. Bishop waded into the snake pits at the Sweetwater Rattlesnake Roundup,and performed the snake-skinning but she declined to mark her bloody handprint on the wall as previous Miss Texas winners have done.
By wading into politics, particularly as a person of color in Texas, she will have to find a way to skin a different breed of snake.
In an opinion article published by MSNBC, Bishop wrote: "I also know that if our politicians continue to shut out, ignore and oppress marginalized and minority Texans, the state will never become the socio-economic and political powerhouse it wants to become."
Bishop concluded: "I became Miss Texas to advocate for the people of color, immigrants and LGTBQ people who hold up every community from Galveston to Waco. Now more than ever, it is crucial to hold our leaders and institutions accountable. And I think most Texans agree with me."
Texas Republicans, who hold the reins of power in the state legislature and the governorship, gerrymandered the state's political districts after the 202 Census to favor GOP candidates and divided districts that held a majority Democratic advantage. That was the case in District 112 where Button in 2022 successfully beat back a challenge from Democrat.
Traditionally, Miss Texas does a publicity stunt that involves skinning snakes. Bishop waded into the snake pits at the Sweetwater Rattlesnake Roundup,and performed the snake-skinning but she declined to mark her bloody handprint on the wall as previous Miss Texas winners have done.
By wading into politics, particularly as a person of color in Texas, she will have to find a way to skin a different breed of snake.
EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow me at Threads.net/eduardodiok, @DioknoEd on Twitter or at the blog Views From the Edge.
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