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Mercer sits on the state board's school finance committee which oversees the Permanent School Fund, the largest education endowment in the United States. He is a member of the state board's Committee on School Initiatives and the vice chairman of the committees on School Initiatives and Instruction.<ref name=sboe/> Mercer has been known for his [[conservative]] views regarding the formulation of state standards in science and history. He is politically allied with Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick and supported the failed bid of [[United States Senator]] [[Ted Cruz]] of Texas for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination.<ref name=fbook>{{cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/KenMercerTX/|title=Ken Mercer|publisher=[[Facebook]]|accessdate=February 22, 2016}}</ref>

Mercer sits on the state board's school finance committee which oversees the Permanent School Fund, the largest education endowment in the United States. He is a member of the state board's Committee on School Initiatives and the vice chairman of the committees on School Initiatives and Instruction.<ref name=sboe/> Mercer has been known for his [[conservative]] views regarding the formulation of state standards in science and history. He is politically allied with Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick and supported the failed bid of [[United States Senator]] [[Ted Cruz]] of Texas for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination.<ref name=fbook>{{cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/KenMercerTX/|title=Ken Mercer|publisher=[[Facebook]]|accessdate=February 22, 2016}}</ref>

Mercer was a candidate for re-nomination to a fourth term on the state board in the Republican primary election on March 1, 2016.  [[Wayne Christian]], a former state House member making a second bid for the [[Texas Railroad Commission]] in the November 8 general election has called Mercer "a rock-solid conservative with the backbone to stand up to the Far Left!"<ref name=fbook/> On November 8, Mercer again faces Democrat Rebecca Bell-Metereau, who describes him as "a solid vote for the most extreme and misguided decisions. He's still pushing for a vision of public education that is really contrary to how we were founded as a nation, the idea that free public education was a backbone of our nation."<ref name=ggarcia>Gilbert Garcia, "Professor makes 3rd run at SBOE stalwart", ''San Antonio Express-News'', August 19, 2016, p. A2</ref> Bell-Metereau in her statement implies that public education dates to 1789 instead of primarily the latter half of the nineteenth century. She questions Mercer's support for expanded [[charter school]]s and the emphasis on standardized testing in schools. An advocate of American exceptionalism, Mercer also  rejects [[Charles Darwin]]'s [[theory of evolution]],<ref name=ggarcia/>

Mercer was a candidate for re-nomination to a fourth term on the state board in the Republican primary election on March 1, 2016.  [[Wayne Christian]], a former state House member who made a second and successful bid for the [[Texas Railroad Commission]] in the November 8 general election called Mercer "a rock-solid conservative with the backbone to stand up to the Far Left!"<ref name=fbook/> On November 8, Mercer again defeated the Democrat Rebecca Bell-Metereau, who described him as "a solid vote for the most extreme and misguided decisions. He's still pushing for a vision of public education that is really contrary to how we were founded as a nation, the idea that free public education was a backbone of our nation."<ref name=ggarcia>Gilbert Garcia, "Professor makes 3rd run at SBOE stalwart", ''San Antonio Express-News'', August 19, 2016, p. A2</ref> Bell-Metereau in her statement implied that public education dates to 1789 instead of primarily the latter half of the nineteenth century. She questions Mercer's support for expanded [[charter school]]s and the emphasis in Texas on standardized testing in schools. An advocate of American exceptionalism, Mercer rejects [[Charles Darwin]]'s [[theory of evolution]],<ref name=ggarcia/>

 

Though he lost the [[Austin, Texas|Austin]] precincts in the 2016 election, Mercer defeated Bell-Meterau in the overall District 5, 382,914 votes (49.6 percent) to her 284,878 (46.1 percent). The remaining 25,029 ballots (4.1 percent) went to Ricardo Perkins, nominee of the [[Libertarian Party]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://enrpages.sos.state.tx.us/public/nov08_319_state.htm|title=Election Returns|date=November 8, 2016|publisher=Texas Secretary of State|accessdate=November 9, 2016}}</ref>

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==References==