Gases warming in the State Board of Education race

The seldom-seen Gail Lowe, who represents much of North Texas on the tempestuous State Board of Education, made an appearance Monday night.

But nowhere near Denton, Wise or Hood counties, or the voters who might decide whether the Lampasas Republican is re-elected.

Lowe spoke in Graham, saying among other things that her opponents are not "family-friendly" and that she will vote against textbooks that say humans contributed to global warming.

The liberal Texas Freedom Network took note.

The comment also followed a Texas Monthly column in the November issue quoting Lowe claiming that “The National Academy of Sciences has still stated that [evolution] is not a fact, and we don’t believe evolution ought to be taught as a fact.”

The Academy -- like most experts -- describes evolution as a theory based on fact.

Lowe's opponents are college English professor Edra Bogle, a Denton Democrat, and Carrollton Libertarin John E. Shuey.

Most of the voters in the Hill Country-to-Red-River district live in North Texas, but the only campaign forum this year has been in Lowe's hometown of Lampasas.

--Bud Kennedy