Texas Board of Eduction candidate Mary Lou Bruner became the panic du jour in March when it was discovered that she'd posted to her Facebook several out-there conspiracy theories claiming, for instance, that "Obama has a soft spot for homosexuals because of the years he spent as a male prostitute in his twenties" to pay "for his drugs."

On Tuesday, however, Bruner lost in Texas' District 9 Republican runoff to dark horse opponent Kevin Ellis, a chiropractor and local school board chair. Ellis won a by an 18-point margin.

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But more importantly, Bruner lost by an 18-point margin. Texans who didn't want a bona fide looney tune deciding what does and doesn't make it in its public schools' textbooks are breathing a collective sigh of relief Wednesday.

"If Bruner had ultimately won election to the board, she would have instantly become the most embarrassingly uninformed and divisive member on a board that already too often puts politics ahead of making sure our kids get a sound education,” Kathy Miller, president of the Texas Freedom Network (TFN), told The Texas Tribune. TFN, a necessary watchdog over the state's BOE, originally revealed Bruner's conspiracist Facebook posts back in March.

Read the full report over at The Texas Tribune.