Former Trump spokesperson Katrina Pierson will win Texas state House primary runoff, CNN projects

By Michelle Shen, CNN

(CNN) — Katrina Pierson, who served as Donald Trump’s spokesperson during his 2016 presidential campaign, will win the Republican primary runoff for Texas’ 33rd state House district, CNN projects.

Pierson will unseat incumbent state Rep. Justin Holland in the Dallas-area district, and with no Democrat on the ballot, she is almost certain to win the general election in November.

Pierson was a highly visible Trump surrogate during his first campaign, regularly appearing on cable television to defend Trump and promote his White House bid. After the 2020 election, she played an integral role in the “Stop the Steal” movement, which falsely claimed that Joe Biden’s win was illegitimate due to widespread fraud.

In one email to her fellow rally organizers on January 2, 2021, Pierson wrote, “POTUS expectations are to have something intimate at the ellipse and call on everyone to march to the capitol.” Four days later, Trump’s speech at the Ellipse would help instigate the Capitol riot.

She eventually testified before January 6 committee, with her text messages offering insight into the role of different Trump advisers in the lead up to the Capitol attack.

Earlier this election cycle, Pierson was noncommittal about endorsing Trump again.

“It’s a primary. I’m a grassroots person. Eventually, it’s in my nature to get behind somebody,” she said in March 2023. Pierson added that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis – who had yet to launch his ultimately unsuccessful White House bid – had “a lot of great ideas.”

During the state House race, Pierson was an outspoken supporter of school vouchers, a signature policy of Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott that Holland opposed.

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