A recent Facebook post by candidate Casey Gray, who is seeking the GOP nomination for Texas Congressional District 11, pointed to a recent candidate forum in Ballinger that sparked a tense exchange between himself and the head of the local GOP.
According to the post, Gray was giving his speech at the forum when he says the wife of the GOP chairman attempted to cut his speech short.
In a video of the forum, Gray can be heard saying, “We need someone who is going to fight for you, not someone who is going to fight for Washington and rip you—the taxpayer—off.”
Betty’s wife then quickly said, “Ok, thank you,” and initiated applause to signal the end of Gray’s speaking time.
Gray remained standing and said, “Although, I keep getting cut off by someone from San Angelo.” Gray then proceeded to point the audience to his website.
After the forum, Gray says Chairman Betty called and informed him that he was acting as legal counsel for his wife, placing the candidate on notice that they may be seeking legal action against Gray. It is unclear if anything else prompted the call.
Gray apparently responded by telling Betty not to call him again, and allegedly called him an expletive.
Betty continued to reach out to Gray multiple times, leaving a voicemail and making numerous posts on Gray’s campaign Facebook post regarding the incident.
One of the posts by Betty claims his wife allowed Gray to speak twice as long as the other candidates before asking him to complete his comments. Gray replied, “You must be an idiot. I asked you to cease contacting me in any form.”
But the exchanges did not stop there.
One of several additional posts by Betty cautioned Gray against making “material misrepresentations of fact” and warned he may need to seek an attorney.
Gray fired back, writing, “You specifically called and threatened me. You told me you were acting as the chairman and as your wife’s attorney.” Gray went on further, saying, “Told you I would not be threatened or silenced. I will not be.”
Gray also demanded again that Betty cease contacting him.
The exchange continued in multiple posts on the candidate’s campaign page.
Ten candidates are currently seeking the district’s GOP nomination in the March 3 Primary Election; Gray is one of four veterans among the contenders. Early voting begins on February 18.
