but they'll mean nothing if all of you don't work the heck out of them. Blockwalk, phone call, write letters, talk to everyone you know...
Get out the vote. That is the only way we win!
Texas House District 5 Endorsement: Cole Hefner (http://colehefner.com/)
Bryan Hughes vacated his seat in HD 5 to run for the State Senate. The district covers several counties: Camp, Morris, Rains, Smith, Titus, and Wood.
Five candidates are running for this open seat: Cole Hefner, Holly Coggins Hayes, Jay Misenheimer, Philip Hayes, and Randy Davis.
Grassroots America: We The People has endorsed Cole.
Texans for Fiscal Responsibility has endorsed Cole.
Other important endorsements have come in as well.
I've donated to his campaign. I urge you to help him as well.
Texas House District 18 Endorsement: Keith Strahan (http://keithstrahan.com/)
Covering Walker, San Jacinto, and Liberty counties, HD 18 is the district of John Otto, former House Budget Writer. He has stepped down from his office, leaving the seat vacant and no less than six candidates have filed to run to replace him. Only two of those candidates have a shot at this: Keith Strahan for State Representative and Wes Hinch, who was endorsed by the departing incumbent. Both are men with excellent character, but they differ widely on their approach.
Strahan understands the proper relationship between the State of Texas and the federal government and wants to strengthen Texas against the federal government. Hinch seems far more willing to endure an all-powerful federal government.
Strahan has this to say about illegal immigration: "The federal government is not going to help us, and they will intentionally hurt us if we try to protect Texans and the property of Texans. It's a moot issue and not even a wise venture in attempting to actually cooperate with them. It's up to Texas to do it herself."
Hinch says this: "Immigration and border security are a federal responsibility... [I] will fight to get federal reimbursement for Texas' share of the costs related to incarceration, education, law enforcement and other public services for illegal aliens because border security is a federal obligation."
Strahan is right; we don't have time to wait for the feds to get their act together. Illegal immigration threatens Texas, and the feds couldn't care less. Hinch doesn't understand that urgency nor the federal government as it is today.
Keith Strahan rejects deference to the federal government. Without hesitation, he opposes the growth of bureaucracy and debt. He's the hardest working candidate in the HD 18 race. Keith Strahan gets my full-throated endorsement. I've donated to his race and I urge you to do the same.
Texas House District 33 Endorsement: John Keating (http://keatingfortexas.com/)
HD 33 is Scott Turner's district, which covers Collin and Rockwall counties. After his bold race for Speaker, Turner stepped down and left the seat open. Three candidates filed to represent the people, and of those three, John Keating is the clear choice.
We become who we hang around, and one of the candidates, Justin Holland, hangs around Four Price and is endorsed by him. Not only does Rep. Price have a failing grade from Empower Texans' Fiscal Index, you might recall that he also officially nominated Straus for Speaker, suggesting in his speech that Straus deserves some credit for Texas being an economic power house in the world. (Hint: that happened long before Straus showed up.) It's also not Holland's only Straus association.
So, no. Not Holland.
Lorne Liechty is the Mayor of Heath, and on his website, his issues page features a rubber stamp that crows "100% Conservative," and yet one of his positions is to reduce illegal immigration. So evidently stopping immigration that is illegal is not on the agenda; Lorne just wants to reduce it. I wonder if he feels that way about other illegal activities?
So, no. Not Liechty.
John Keating serves on the Frisco City Council, and is endorsed by Texans for Fiscal Responsibility. I had a chance to chat with him for a bit, and he's a smart guy. His website actually says "Stopping Illegal Immigration," and he states his pro-life, pro-family, pro-gun, and pro-religious freedom principles. Keating will be a fine replacement for Scott Turner.
I gave his campaign a donation. I urge you to do the same.
Texas House District 64 Endorsement: Read King (http://readking.net/)
Myra Crownover has relinquished her seat representing Texas HD 64, which covers part of Denton County. Three candidates have stepped forward to replace her. Of the three, Read King is the only choice.
Rick Hagen is a defense attorney. In 2014, he hosted a benefit to honor Myra Crownover, who received a failing grade on fiscal responsibility these past two legislative sessions. To honor her is to suck up to those in power, not to reward good representation.
Dr. Lynn Stucky is a veteranarian. I knew nothing about him, but after I Google'd his name, "lynn stucky," I learned enough to show me that he's not the guy.
Read King is a wonderful patriot who ran for office in 2014 against Crownover and garnered 45% of the vote. He blockwalked to a few thousand homes and nearly won. This cycle, he continues to blockwalk like no one else and posts great pictures of his time doing so. Read's just a really good man. He has the endorsement of Texans for Fiscal Responsibility, Texas Right to Life, and a whole host of conservative leaders across Texas. You can check it out at his website.
I eagerly endorse Read King and urge you to donate to his campaign like I have.
Texas House District 73 Endorsement: Kyle Biedermann (http://kylebiedermann.com/)
HD 73 covers Gillespie, Kendall, and Comal counties and its representative is Doug Miller, who, like pretty much every other politician who gets into office, has slid from a fiscal grade of B+ in 2009 to a grade of F in these last two cycles. He voted for Straus, and he needs to be replaced.
Miller has two opponents: Kyle Biedermann and Chris Byrd, and my endorsement goes to Biedermann. Last August, I was invited to speak to the Fredericksburg Tea Party and during that meeting, Kyle was introduced and spoke. He owns and runs the Ace Hardware there in Fredericksburg, and knows what it is to serve customers.
The following morning, Patti and I met with Kyle and his wife, Barbi, for breakfast and we spent a considerable amount of time discussing his entry into politics and his campaign. We had a great and very open conversation about the race, and it's easy to see why Biedermann has been successful in business.
Since then, Biedermann left his business in the capable hands of his employees and he's been all about getting to the people and winning this election. He's pro-business, pro-life, pro-Texas, and pro-gun.
Chris Byrd is an attorney who speaks passionately about Sharia law. He's been involved in pushing the American Laws for American Courts legislation. A smart and good guy. You can catch him on YouTube giving his presentation and they're worth a listen.
The difference between the two challengers, for me, lies in Biedermann's effective efforts to connect with the people. To win this district against a well-established incumbent, name recognition is key and Biedermann has been running the campaign that will achieve that. I'm not alone in that assessment; Biedermann has won several key endorsements, including that of Texans for Fiscal Resoponsibility.
I donated to Biedermann's campaign, and I urge you to do the same.
Texas House District 128 Endorsement: Briscoe Cain (http://briscoecain.com/)
Briscoe Cain. That's really all you need to know about the race for HD 128, which covers part of Harris county. He's a conservative lawyer who gets involved in disputes where the government runs over our freedoms, and he wins. I've met him, and he's wicked smart and willing to work hard to do what it takes. I like him.
He's up against Republican incumbent Wayne Smith, who's been occupying that seat since 2002 - and to no great achievement. Smith quietly ignores what's best for the people and just votes along to get along. He is totally okay with crony politics, Obamacare in Texas, and he loves greater government and whatever growth in regulations will accompany that.
But hey - Smith quickly tells you that he's a veteran (first thing on his website). As a veteran myself, I'm leery when a candidate throws that fact out there as a means of introduction because it's usually used to obfuscate their liberal record (see Arizona's John McCain, Iowa's Tom Harkin, etc).
If you want to diminish liberalism within the Republican Party of Texas, then you vote Briscoe Cain. I promise you, he'll be someone you'll be very proud to have supported.
I donated to Cain's campaign, and I urge you to do the same.