Houston Independent Board of Education District V election ends in 2-way runoff

The race for the Houston Independent School District Board of Education District V has yielded a runoff between Sue Deigaard and Caroline Walter.

According to a report by the Community Impact Newspaper, the unofficial results show Deigaard with around 49% of the vote to Walter's 36%. Because the former didn't cross the 50% threshold, the race will move toward a runoff election in December.

The report states “Deigaard was ahead with more than 52% of the vote after Early Voting results came in, but Election Day results favored Walter and candidate Maria Benzon enough to bring the race into runoff territory.”

Deigaard was elected to the HISD Board of Education in 2017 and has held a number of leadership roles during her time, including board president in 2020.

Walter moved to Houston in 2006 after her husband signed a contract with the Houston Texans, according to her campaign website. She serves as a volunteer at the Texas Children’s Hospital and co-chaired a 2019 event raising over $200,000 for West U Parks.

“The current leadership of HISD is failing our kids. This must stop. Our kids are capable, but they need us to help them reach their true potential: change is the only way this will happen,” Walter wrote on her campaign website.

According to CIN, the third candidate in the contest, Benzon, bowed out with only a little over 14% of the vote. 

Results will remain unofficial until canvassed.