As the March Republican primary approaches, voters across Texas House District 86 are preparing to choose between two candidates whose professional backgrounds and paths into public life differ in notable ways. House District 86 spans seven Panhandle counties—Dallam, Hartley, Oldham, Deaf Smith, Parmer, Randall, and Armstrong—covering a region defined by agriculture, small towns, Amarillo-area suburbs, and shared concerns around education, healthcare access, property taxes, and economic growth.
The Republican contest features Holly Jeffreys and Jamie Haynes, both longtime Texas residents with deep ties to the Panhandle. Each brings a distinct résumé, set of priorities, and approach to public service, offering voters a choice shaped by experience in different sectors of the economy and community life.
District context and shared themes
House District 86 is largely rural, with Amarillo and Canyon serving as population and economic hubs. Many communities in the district face challenges common across the Texas Panhandle: workforce shortages, especially in healthcare and education; access to services in smaller towns; pressure on property owners from rising valuations; and ongoing debates over the role of state government in schools, healthcare, and local decision-making. Republican primary voters often prioritize limited government, individual liberty, traditional values, and policies that support agriculture and small businesses.
Both candidates frame their campaigns around service, community involvement, and conservative principles, but they arrive at those priorities through different professional journeys.
Holly Jeffreys: healthcare, education, and institutional leadership
Holly Jeffreys grew up in Amarillo and has spent most of her adult life working in healthcare and higher education across the Panhandle. Her early career focused on rural healthcare delivery, where she helped establish clinics in small towns such as Panhandle, Boys Ranch, Vega, Bushland, and Claude—communities that had previously gone long periods without consistent local care. In Bushland, her work expanded beyond clinical services to include the creation of a pharmacy and a coffee shop, reflecting a focus on meeting broader community needs.
Jeffreys’ career later shifted toward academic leadership. She now serves as dean of the College of Nursing and Health Sciences at West Texas A&M University, overseeing more than 50 faculty members and programs that train a significant portion of the region’s healthcare workforce. In this role, she has been involved in addressing nursing shortages, curriculum development, and partnerships between universities and rural communities for hands-on training.
At the state level, Jeffreys has been appointed by Texas leadership to serve on healthcare-related task forces and advisory boards. Her experience includes roles connected to the Lieutenant Governor’s Health Care Advisory Board, the Texas Board of Nursing, and Medicaid and CHIP advisory efforts in earlier years. She has also served as an expert witness and case reviewer for the Board of Nursing. These roles place her within existing state systems, where she has focused on healthcare costs, workforce challenges, and regulatory issues.
Jeffreys’ involvement extends into nonprofit and civic leadership. She has held leadership positions with organizations such as the Harrington Foundation and served on governing boards for regional healthcare systems and rural health associations. Her small business experience was recognized when she was named Small Business Person of the Year for the Texas Panhandle by the U.S. Small Business Administration.
On a personal level, Jeffreys’ biography emphasizes long-standing Panhandle roots, faith, and family. She and her husband, a rancher, have been married for more than three decades, raised four children, and remain active in church and community life. Her background reflects a blend of healthcare service, education administration, and participation in established public and nonprofit institutions.
Jamie Haynes: business, technology, and grassroots activism
Jamie Haynes brings a different professional background centered on technology, real estate, and political activism. Born in Austin and raised largely on her family’s ranch in central Texas, she later moved to the Panhandle after meeting her husband while attending Texas Tech University. Her early career was in information systems and programming, including work as a computer programmer and quality assurance analyst for companies in the pharmacy and merchandising sectors.
Haynes later earned an MBA from West Texas A&M University and accumulated a range of technical certifications. In the mid-2000s, she started a photography business, and later transitioned fully into real estate, joining and helping grow her family’s brokerage, Triangle Realty. Her role focused heavily on marketing, branding, and integrating technology to streamline operations. Over time, the brokerage became one of the more prominent firms in the Texas Panhandle, particularly in residential and land sales.
Her civic involvement expanded into election administration and voter registration, including service as an election judge and volunteer deputy registrar in Randall County. Following the COVID-19 period, Haynes stepped away from day-to-day business operations and became more active in conservative grassroots politics. She founded Texans Wake Up, an organization focused on activism around education, parental rights, and limited government.
Haynes has served in a number of party-related roles, including precinct chair, county convention delegate, and vice-chair positions within local Republican organizations. At the state level, she has participated in multiple Republican Party of Texas legislative priority subcommittees, particularly those focused on parental rights and education-related issues. Nationally, she has been involved with organizations such as the Club for Growth Foundation and the Protect Child Health Coalition.
Her political profile emphasizes activism, constitutional principles, and a confrontational approach to policy debates involving education, government overreach, and cultural issues. Awards from grassroots organizations and conservative groups highlight her standing within activist circles. Like Jeffreys, Haynes highlights faith, family, and ranching as central to her personal identity, noting that she and her husband continue to run cattle and have recently relocated their family ranch to the Panhandle.
Contrasting experience and governing style
The primary choice in House District 86 reflects a broader contrast seen in many Republican primaries across Texas. Jeffreys represents a candidate shaped by healthcare delivery, higher education administration, and collaboration with state institutions. Her supporters may view her as someone prepared to work within the legislative process on complex policy areas such as healthcare access, workforce development, and education funding, especially in rural settings.
Haynes, by contrast, represents a grassroots-driven, activist-oriented approach. Her campaign is likely to resonate with voters who prioritize aggressive advocacy on cultural and parental rights issues, skepticism of government institutions, and a business-first, technology-informed perspective. Her background suggests a willingness to challenge existing systems rather than operate within them.
What voters will decide
For Republican voters in District 86, the primary will determine not just a nominee, but the type of representation they want in Austin. The decision involves weighing institutional experience against grassroots activism, healthcare and education policy expertise against political organizing and business leadership, and differing views on how best to advance conservative priorities in a changing Panhandle.
As March approaches, the race offers a clear comparison between two candidates rooted in West Texas but shaped by very different professional and political paths. The outcome will signal what Republican voters in the district believe is most needed to represent their communities at the Texas Capitol.
Listen to our interviews with the candidates:
Holly Jeffreys
Jamie Haynes
