Shelley Luther, former Dallas salon owner who defied COVID-19 orders, wins Texas House District primary
Luther led incumbent State Rep. Reggie Smith by a little more than 2,000 votes, earning 53.42%, according to the latest election results.
Author: Ryan Osborne
Published: 8:10 AM CST March 6, 2024
Updated: 11:25 AM CST March 6, 2024
DALLAS — Shelley Luther, the former Dallas County salon owner who made national headlines for defying COVID-19 shutdown orders, won the Republican primary in Texas House District 62 along the Red River on Super Tuesday.
Luther led incumbent State Rep. Reggie Smith by a little more than 2,000 votes, earning 53.42%, according to the latest election results on the Secretary of State's website. All precincts were reporting.
Luther is now set to face a Democratic opponent in the November general election.
She previously lost to Smith in the District 62 in 2022 and lost in a runoff to Drew Springer in the Texas Senate District 30 race in 2020.
House District 62 includes Delta, Fannin, Franklin and Grayson counties along the Red River.
Luther's primary victory comes less than a year after she suffered a brain aneurysm in April 2023. She was hospitalized for nearly a month, saying she was in the 1% of people who survive the type of aneurysm she suffered.
"I wanted to thank everyone who has called, prayed, messaged, sent cards and reached out. I have a long way to go to fully recover, but feeling very blessed," Luther wrote in a message on her Facebook page last year. "Apparently, God chose me to be the 1% to survive this specific brain aneurism, and although I feel lucky, I feel a tremendous amount of responsibility to be obedient and to live with gratitude."
Luther made national headlines during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 when certain businesses were shutting down to prevent spreading of the illness.
Luther had reopened her salon despite Dallas County and state orders that shut down non-essential businesses. She was issued a citation but later tore it up during a rally to reopen businesses in the Texas.
At a court hearing after she ignored a temporary restraining order from the city and kept her salon open, a state district judge found her in contempt of court and ordered her to seven days in jail. She was released from jail early after an order from the Texas Supreme Court.
Later in 2020, she ran as a Republican for a Texas Senate seat in District 30, which covers areas of North Texas such as Sherman, Denton, Weatherford and Stephenville. She lost in a special runoff election in December 2020 to Drew Springer.
https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/politics/elections/texas-election-primary-2024-results-house-district-62-shelley-luther-reggie-smith/287-9a214354-c514-4c50-8770-8dcef8e4b9f4