GARLAND, Texas—Jonathan Boos fell short two years ago, but he’s taking another crack at the Texas House and running to represent House District 113 which covers portions of Eastern Dallas County.
Boos, a Republican activist and businessman from Garland, first ran for the Texas House in 2016. challenging State Rep. Cindy Burkett (R—Sunnyvale) and coming close to unseating her, receiving 44 percent of the vote, despite being outspent more than three to one.
Rather than face a likely defeat at the hands of Boos, Burkett has decided to seek higher office—choosing to set her failed record in the Texas House against State Sen. Bob Hall’s (R—Edgewood) sterling service in the Texas Senate.
Burkett’s departure left an open seat election, one that soon saw the entry of Sunnyvale Mayor Jim Phaup and local businessman Charlie Lauersdorf, who are both also vying for the Republican nomination.
Boos is definitely at the head of the pack, being endorsed by Texans for Fiscal Responsibility, Texas Right to Life, the Young Conservatives of Texas, and other conservative organizations. The support of Texas Right to Life could be an X-factor in the race given their previous support of Burkett in 2016.
But it isn’t just statewide actors supporting Boos, Grassroots leaders on the ground seem to agree as well with conservatives rallying behind him all across the district. In fact, 100% of the precinct chairs in his district have endorsed him in the race and so have both Boos’ members of the SREC. Boos also seems to have gained significantly more financial support than his last campaign given his recent fundraising report.
Campaign finance reports are out on the Texas Ethics Commission website and this time around Boos has done very well, raising over $80,000 with $70,000 cash on hand.
Boos said that the support he’s received has been overwhelming and the metrics definitely bear that out. Boos has more than 250 in-district donors and told Texas Scorecard that he’s knocked on over 3,000 doors.
“I feel blessed by all of the support I am receiving in the District,” said Boos. “I have been knocking on doors since I announced my intent to run again and am very happy about the response.”
A Republican-leaning district, the March 6th Republican Primary between Jonathan Boos, Jim Phaup, and Charlie Lauersdorf will likely decide who represents House District 113 in the Texas House, though there is a chance for a runoff between Boos and Lauersdorf.
This article is part of Texas Scorecard’s “On the Trail Tour” series. To view more field reports on campaigns across the state of Texas, visit our website here.
Cary Cheshire contributed to this report.
