--- title: Teacher Beat Kentucky Majority Leader, Returned to School description: Kentucky teacher Travis Brenda said his narrow defeat of Kentucky House Majority Leader Jonathan Shell in the GOP primary sent a message. canonical: https://time.com/5288503/travis-brenda-kentucky-teacher-election/ author: Katie Reilly article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-05-23T16:44:38.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-12T09:28:27.943Z article:section: Politics og:title: A Teacher Beat Kentucky's Majority Leader. Then He Went Back to School og:description: "I think a message was sent last night" og:url: https://time.com/5288503/travis-brenda-kentucky-teacher-election/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0f3bebf56f2b8664/69893141e76ad214db632179/travis-brenda-kentucky-teacher-election-results.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4000 og:image:height: 2250 og:image:alt: Elections Teachers - 03 May 2018 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: A Teacher Beat Kentucky's Majority Leader. Then He Went Back to School twitter:description: "I think a message was sent last night" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0f3bebf56f2b8664/69893141e76ad214db632179/travis-brenda-kentucky-teacher-election-results.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # This Teacher Beat Kentucky's House Majority Leader in the GOP Primary. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=ec850ee0-1183-455a-992b-efd37f28ec2a&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: A High School Teacher Beat the House Majority Leader in Kentucky's Republican Primary [Watch (HLS stream): A High School Teacher Beat the House Majority Leader in Kentucky's Republican Primary](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/c621uOPD.m3u8) (0:47)  _Published 2018-05-23. The majority leader of the Kentucky House of Representatives narrowly lost Tuesday’s GOP primary to high school math teacher Travis Brenda._  by [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly May 23, 2018 4:44 PM UTC The majority leader of the Kentucky House of Representatives narrowly lost Tuesday’s GOP primary to high school math teacher Travis Brenda.  by [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly May 23, 2018 4:44 PM UTC On Tuesday night, high school teacher [Travis Brenda](http://time.com/5288058/kentucky-republican-primary-travisb-brenda/) narrowly defeated Kentucky House Majority Leader Jonathan Shell in the Republican primary. On Wednesday morning, he was back at Rockcastle County High School in Mt. Vernon, Kentucky for a professional development workshop for teachers. “It’s been overwhelming,” he told TIME on Wednesday. Brenda, who won 51% of the vote, is one of dozens of teachers who have become first-time candidates across the country this year, following teacher walkouts for better pay and [more education funding in red states.](http://time.com/5228971/a-wave-of-teacher-activism-is-sweeping-red-states/) Most of the teachers-turned-candidates are Democrats, but many Republicans are also running. And Brenda is one of a handful of Republican teachers who [challenged a member of his own party](http://time.com/5255048/republican-teachers-running-education/) in a primary, [fed up with years of education cuts](http://time.com/5237436/fed-up-women-are-changing-american-politics/). “The title of majority floor leader really does not mean anything to me,” Brenda said. “What’s important to me is, are they listening to their constituents and are they doing what’s best for Kentucky and best for the district here at home. And I think a message was sent last night.” Brenda’s upset victory comes less than two months after [teachers flooded the state capitol](http://time.com/5222483/kentucky-teachers-pension-strike-matt-bevin/) to protest education cuts and controversial pension changes. Brenda disagreed with the way Republican leaders handled an overhaul of the public pension system, [rapidly unveiling and passing](http://www.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/article207317709.html) a surprise bill that left teachers with [less generous retirement benefits](https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/politics/2018/04/10/kentucky-pension-reform-bill-becomes-law-tuesday-impact-teachers/502128002/). Shell, whom Brenda had voted for in the past, introduced the pension proposal. At the time, teachers warned lawmakers that they would keep the pension overhaul in mind when voting in upcoming elections, chanting, “We’ll remember in November” and “Vote them out.” “I really think the momentum was on my side,” Brenda said Wednesday. “That upset a lot of people — not just teachers, but other state employees and their family members as well. I think a lot of the focus has been just on teachers, whereas it’s a lot more than just teachers.” Brenda, who has been an educator for 19 years, teaches math and pre-engineering classes using textbooks that are as old as his students. Shell, who has served in the Kentucky House since 2013, became [majority floor leader in late 2016 at age 29](http://www.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/article129104604.html) and was considered a rising young star among Kentucky Republicans. Brenda will now face Democrat Mary Renfro, a real estate agent and school board member, in the November general election. If elected, he said he wants to boost education funding and work on solutions to the [opioid crisis](http://time.com/james-nachtwey-opioid-addiction-america/) facing his district and the rest of the country. “Education, economic development and the opioid crisis, to me, are all interconnected because we have to have an educated workforce to attract new businesses, to bring in jobs and we have to have people who can pass a drug test who are educated to step into those jobs,” Brenda said. “All that stuff goes hand in hand. And if we do not have an educated workforce, then businesses will not even consider relocating to an area.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5288503/travis-brenda-kentucky-teacher-election/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5288503/travis-brenda-kentucky-teacher-election/"},"headline":"This Teacher Beat Kentucky's House Majority Leader in the GOP Primary. 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