In Collin County, House District 70 is an open seat that is currently represented by State Rep. Scott Sanford (R–McKinney), who has announced his retirement from the Legislature.
Either real estate professional Eric Bowlin or former Plano Chamber of Commerce President Jamee Jolly will be the new Republican nominee for HD 70 following the May 24 runoff.
Eric Bowlin
A veteran and real estate professional, Bowlin became a business and leadership coach in his community.
Based on data from Transparency USA, Bowlin’s campaign is mostly self-funded to the tune of nearly $300,000. He currently has more than $160,000 cash on hand.
Bowlin has received the endorsements of Texas Right to Life, Texas Home School Coalition, and Texas Gun Rights, as well as grassroots organizations such as Grassroots America: We the People, Texas Eagle Forum, Patriot Texas, and the Collin County Conservative Republicans. He has also received the recommendation of True Texas Project. U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, former GOP Chairman Allen West, and State Sen. Bob Hall have all endorsed Bowlin, as well as many local officials and grassroots activists.
Jamee Jolly
Former president of the Plano Chamber of Commerce and executive director of Plano ISD’s Education Foundation, Jolly is active in the local business community.
According to data from Transparency USA, Jolly’s campaign has raised just over $250,000. Her largest donor is the Associated Republicans of Texas ($100,500), with the Texas Association of Realtors ($72,602), the Plano Fire Fighters ($25,000), and the Protect and Serve Texas PAC ($12,822) also contributing substantial sums. Jolly currently has less than $40,000 cash on hand.
Jolly has received the endorsements of the Associated Republicans of Texas, Texans for Lawsuit Reform, Texas Association of Business, Texas Realtors PAC, the Texas Bankers Association, the Texas Oil & Gas Association Committee on Good Governance, as well as establishment-aligned Texas Alliance for Life and local unions. Gov. Greg Abbott has also endorsed Jolly.
The Issues
For the past several weeks, Texas Scorecard has been asking all the runoff candidates questions on hot-topic issues voters care about as they head to the polls.
Regarding ending the practice of Democrat Committee Chairs in the Republican-majority Texas House, Bowlin supports ending the practice. Jolly did not respond.
On extending the protections for girls’ sports to women’s collegiate athletics in order to prevent men pretending to be women from demolishing the competition, Bowlin supports the protections. Jolly declined to respond.
Bowlin supports various forms of property tax relief, including reforming the bond process, further capping tax rates, and banning taxpayer-funded lobbying. Jolly did not respond to Texas Scorecard’s inquiry.
Protecting parental rights in education by preventing kindergarten through third-grade students from being taught harmful gender ideologies is an issue Bowlin supports. Jolly declined to comment.
The border crisis is an invasion, and Bowlin supports Texas’ work to secure the border despite pressure from the left; Jolly declined to comment on the border invasion.
Closing the loopholes in Texas obscenity laws that allow for pornographic books in children’s schools is something Bowlin says he will support, whereas Jolly declined to comment on the matter.
Bowlin supports ending corporate welfare in Texas and believes Texas should focus on cutting taxes to make the business community more accessible to all. Jolly did not respond to Texas Scorecard’s inquiry.
Regarding vaccine mandates, Bowlin opposes them and says conservatives should defend medical freedom. Jolly did not respond.
Election Day
The winner of the Republican runoff will face the Democrat runoff winner in November. Election Day for the runoff is Tuesday, May 24. Early voting begins on May 16.
