Leigh Wambsganss
Leigh Wambsganss | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) Wamsganns in 2024 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Loretta Leigh Bowman Virginia, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) |
David Magee
(m. 1993; div. 1998)Andrew Wambsganss (m. 1999) |
| Children | 2 |
| Residence(s) | Southlake, Texas, U.S. |
| Education | University of Central Oklahoma (BA) Dallas Baptist University (MA) |
Loretta Leigh Wambsganss (née Bowman, formerly Magee) is an American conservative political activist who is the chief communications officer of Patriot Mobile and executive director of its affiliated political action committee, Patriot Mobile Action. She is known for her work supporting school board candidates who opposed diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives and critical race theory in the Dallas–Fort Worth region as co-chair of the Southlake Families PAC.
Early life and education
Loretta Leigh Bowman was born in Virginia; her mother was an insurance agent and her father was a police officer before joining the U.S. Army and moving the family to Fort Sill in Oklahoma.[1] Bowman was a finalist for the Miss Oklahoma USA contest and is credited in the 1989 slasher film Offerings.[2]
She earned a Bachelor of Arts in broadcast journalism from the University of Central Oklahoma and a Master of Arts in organizational management from Dallas Baptist University.[3]
Career
Political activism in Colorado
Shortly after her first marriage in 1993, Wambsganss (then known as Magee) moved to Grand Junction, Colorado, where she formed and co-chaired the "Concerned Citizens Against Incorporation of Clifton" group, which opposed the unincorporated Fruitvale joining nearby Clifton in favor of Grand Junction.[2]
Wambsganss started her professional career as a television news anchor, reporter and producer. She was a congressional staffer and was listed in The Daily Sentinel in 1996 and again in 1997 as the area representative in Grand Junction for U.S. Representative Scott McInnis.[2]
Political activism in Texas
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Amidst the George Floyd protests in 2020, Wambsganss made a Facebook post stating "Sadly, they need to die - but they would still vote" in reference to Black Lives Matter protestors and a conspiracy that people were impersonating dead voters.[4]
Speaking at the 2023 Moms for Liberty summit, Wambsganns stated "This is not a political war, it is a spiritual war!"[5] She also testified against the Tarrant County Commissioners providing funding for the county's chapter of Girls Inc. due to the national affiliate's advocacy on LGBTQ rights and abortion, stating the national and local chapter could not be separated.[6]
In late 2024, Wambsganss accused the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth of hosting child pornography for its exhibition of Sally Mann's photography.[7]
Patriot Mobile
Wambsganns served as vice president of government and public affairs at Patriot Mobile, then became the company's chief communications officer.[8][9]
School board activism
In 2021, Wambsganns earned national acclaim among conservatives for her work as one of the co-founders alongside Tim O'Hare of Southlake Families PAC, a group that promotes itself as "unapologetically rooted in Judeo-Christian values" that fought against the Carroll Independent School District's diversity plan to crack down on racism and anti-LGBTQ bullying. Under her leadership, it raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to support a slate of school board candidates who promised to kill the plan.[10][11] The group's endorsed candidates won 70% of their races.[12]
She also serves as the executive director of the political action committee Patriot Mobile Action, where she stated that the group's goal was to eliminate "critical race theory" and "LGBTQ indoctrination" from schools by electing conservative school board members.[13][14] The group targeted numerous independent school district boards in 2022, supporting far-right candidates in the Keller ISD, Grapevine-Colleyville ISD, Mansfield ISD and Carroll ISD school boards in Tarrant County in the 2022 elections.[15]
2025 State Senate campaign
On June 27, 2025, Wambsganss announced her campaign for the November 4th special election to the Texas State Senate in District 9, where incumbent Republican Kelly Hancock resigned to become chief clerk to the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts.[16] She quickly gained the endorsement of Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick and state representative Nate Schatzline, who had previously announced his campaign but withdrew after she entered the race.[17] Other declared candidates in the nonpartisan primary— which will go to a run-off election if no candidate receives a majority of the vote— include Republican Keller mayor Armin Mizani and Democratic labor union leader Taylor Rehmet.[18]
Political views
| This article is part of a series on |
| Christian nationalism in the United States |
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Ideologically, Wambsganss has been described as a Christian nationalist.[19]
Personal life
Bowman married David Magee, a firefighter in Grand Junction, Colorado, in 1993. The couple moved to Fort Worth around 1996 then Haslet in 1998, but divorced later that year. She married then-councilmember and later mayor of Southlake Andrew Wambsganss a year later in 1999.[2] They have two sons and reside in Southlake.
References
- ^ "Leigh For Texas Senate District 9". Retrieved July 10, 2025.
- ^ a b c d Richards Bim, Maria (June 2, 2025). "Leigh Wambsganss and the duplicity of Christian nationalist women". Baptist News Global. Retrieved June 28, 2025.
- ^ "Leigh Wambsganss". Grabien. Retrieved June 28, 2025.
- ^ Davis, Bradford William (June 30, 2025). "GOP leaders slammed Tarrant chair over post, but some embraced this hater". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Retrieved July 21, 2025.
- ^ Brockschmidt, Annika (July 6, 2023). "At Moms for Liberty Summit, 'Mama Bears' Declare Spiritual War on the 'Radical Left'". Religion Dispatches. Retrieved June 28, 2025.
- ^ Church, Abby (October 3, 2023). "Tarrant blocks funding for girls nonprofit after concerns surface about political ideology". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Retrieved June 28, 2025.
- ^ Turcios, Carlos (December 23, 2024). "Is The Modern Art Museum Of Fort Worth Promoting Child Porn?". Dallas Express. Retrieved July 21, 2025.
- ^ "T-Mobile's connection to Grapevine-based Patriot Mobile sparks a backlash". 14 October 2022.
- ^ "Meet the leader behind Patriot Mobile Action and North Texas' conservative revolution". 23 October 2023.
- ^ Monacelli, Steve (November 13, 2023). "These Are the Right-Wing Ideologues Taking Over School Boards". Texas Observer. Retrieved June 29, 2025.
- ^ Hixenbaugh, Mike (August 25, 2022). "It's marketed as the nation's 'only Christian conservative wireless provider.' Now it's taking over school boards". NBC News. Retrieved June 29, 2025.
- ^ Asmelash, Leah (May 5, 2021). "A school district tried to address racism, a group of parents fought back". CNN. Archived from the original on October 19, 2021. Retrieved October 24, 2021.
- ^ Harris, Elizabeth A.; Alter, Alexandra (12 December 2022). "A Fast-Growing Network of Conservative Groups is Fueling a Surge in Book Bans". The New York Times.
- ^ Goodman, J. David (5 October 2022). "How a Christian Cellphone Company Became a Rising Force in Texas Politics". The New York Times.
- ^ "With piles of campaign cash, Christian activists make North Texas school board races a state battleground". 5 May 2022.
- ^ "Gov. Greg Abbott sets Nov. 4 special election for open state Senate seat". 27 June 2025.
- ^ "State Rep. Nate Schatzline drops Texas Senate bid, endorses conservative activist Leigh Wambsganss". 24 June 2025.
- ^ Royster, Rachel (July 8, 2025). "North Texas mayor joins race for Fort Worth-area state Senate District 9". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Retrieved July 8, 2025.
- ^ Richards Bim, Mara (2 June 2025). "Patriot Mobile's Leigh Wambsganss and the duplicity of Christian nationalist women". Baptist News Global. Retrieved 5 August 2025.