Newly-elected State Board of Education member Jay Johnson will have a challenger next year in the Republican primary election.

On Monday, the Republican Party of Texas released a list of filed candidates for the upcoming March Republican primary election, showing that Aaron Kinsey will challenge Johnson. According to his website, Kinsey is a veteran of the United States Air Force and a commercial real estate company executive.

Kinsey and his family live in Midland, which is included in the SBOE District 15. The major cities in District 15 include Amarillo, Lubbock, Midland, Odessa, Abilene, Wichita Falls, and San Angelo.

The current District 15 SBOE representative is Jay Johnson, a Republican from Pampa, who was elected to replace the retiring Marty Rowley last year. Johnson is a retired dentist and the former president of the Pampa ISD Board of Trustees. Johnson has not yet filed to seek re-election.

Candidate filing for this office continues through Monday, December 13. The primary election is currently scheduled for March 1, 2022.