In keeping with our effort to provide Texans with the information they need to be informed voters, Texas Scorecard made a questionnaire available to those running the State Republican Executive Committee. While we won’t be issuing an endorsement in any of these races, we hope that the responses to these questions will help you decide which man and which woman will best represent your interest on the SREC.
Here are the answers from the Senate District 4 candidates who responded:
Allison Winter
Gwen Withrow
Jon Bouche
Chris Breaux
What are the qualities of a Texas Republican? Why are you one?
Allison Winter: Texas Republicans have unique qualities! They are liberty minded, social and fiscal conservatives, believe in limited government, LOVE their guns, are for religious liberty, protective of the Texas Constitution, the US Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, and are God fearing people. I am Republican because I believe in the mission statement (the Preamble and ten Principles) and am proud of our Platform planks.
Gwen Withrow: A Texas Republican believes in and supports the party platform in their actions and voting records. I am a strong proponent of following constitutional philosophy including limited government and states’ sovereignty. I support and vote for candidates that model the party platform.
Jon Bouche: Texas Republicans SHOULD believe that God created us and that our individual liberty is a gift from God. We SHOULD be the party of ethics, morals and individual responsibility. We SHOULD fight until abortion is abolished. And without the Second Amendment, these principles and the entire Bill or Rights is just a list of requests. I am a Texas Republican because I believe these things as stated.
Chris Breaux: Simply put, someone who supports a republican form of government with a view to limiting the size of government and maximizing individual liberty.
Texas has a lot of elected Republican officials. Who do you believe does the best job standing up for the priorities of the Texas GOP? Why?
Allison Winter: I really admire Senator Bob Hall’s stand on Election/Voter Integrity, his work on the Electrical Grid, and more recently, his tough stance against Contact Tracing. Senator Hall has come to the SREC meetings to help us fight important battles as well.
Gwen Withrow: My first choice would be Ted Cruz. He strongly follows the constitutional process that the founders envisioned. On a local level I have found that my own state senator—Brandon Creighton does a remarkable job of staying on track with our party platform. He has a score of 82 from Texas Scorecard. I was especially pleased he submitted the Senate Bill to protect our monuments. I am a 5th generation Texan and belong to both the Daughters of the Republic of Texas and the Daughters of the American Revolution so our heritage is important to me. Both are also strong supporters of Israel which is another issue I hold as a high priority.
Jon Bouche: Texas Senator Brandon Creighton has demonstrated that he is willing to stand up for what is right as he did when arguing to preserve our history with the Monument Bill in the 86th Legislative Session. Texas House Member Steve Toth is also someone who has shown that he is not afraid to take a principled stand as he did when he was one of the first to call for Speaker Bonnen to resign.
Chris Breaux: Briscoe Cain, Jonathan Stickland. They are fearless in the pursuit of liberty.
Some individuals say the current party platform is too long and should be shortened. Do you agree? If so, what portions of the platform would you advocate eliminating?
Allison Winter: I am not a proponent of reducing it to ten or twenty principles as some would like to. Our Platform is the voice of the Grassroots! When I served on the Resolutions/Platform Committee for the 2018 RPT Convention, I felt very proud of what we stood for in our Texas Republican Platform.
Gwen Withrow: I do not really advocate for the elimination of any of the party platform issues however; some of them probably can be combined.
Jon Bouche: The platform reflects the will of the entire body of the party so I don’t believe it should be shortened. The sense of the party is reflected in the Pre-amble and the list of 10 core principles.
Chris Breaux: I would eliminate ALL SOCIAL ISSUES. If government is limited then social issues are irrelevant.
What must be done to ensure the Texas GOP’s legislative priorities are implemented by legislators?
Allison Winter: Electing the right legislators who will listen and stand with the 9,000 Delegates from our Party to assure that legislation is implemented for the Legislative Priorities. We are a Republican State, implementing supporting legislation should be a reality. Additionally, we should work to educate our legislators on not only our Legislative Priorities and encourage our Grassroots to make calls and visit Austin during the next Legislative Session. Raise up an Army!
Gwen Withrow: I review the scores found on Texas Scorecard. Voters if they take the time to study candidates could ensure that we vote out bad legislators. The party has a responsibility to take action against legislators who are working against the party legislative priorities. For example; the censor vote against Joe Strauss.
Jon Bouche: County party should meet with their legislators well in advance of the session to ensure that there is a plan in place to achieve the legislative priorities. They should then maintain communication during the session to support their legislators and ensure that the legislative priorities are front and center during the legislative process. They should then meet again after the legislative session to review what was accomplished and then make plans for the next legislative session. Legislative priorities must be a focus year round and not just viewed as an event during the legislative session every two years.
Chris Breaux: We must purge all representatives who fail to support the priorities at the primary ballot box.
Why have you decided to run for the SREC?
Allison Winter: I am running for reelection to be a voice for the Grassroots and to make sure we continue to have a conservative voice representing the SD4. I can actually see the results of some of my work while serving on the SREC this last biennium which is really encouraging to know I am making a difference.
Gwen Withrow: I love Texas and this great country and I want to protect and defend them. We as citizens have to be on constant guard to make sure our elected officials do not get off track. Every two years the party grassroots meet and create a platform to provide a roadmap for legislators that should not be ignored. As a representative republic it is the duty of elected officials to represent those who elect them.
Jon Bouche: I am running for SREC of SD4 for two main reasons. First, I am running to put into effect the process I described in Question 4 with regards to the legislative priorities and to ensure that the entirety of the Republicans in SD4 are represented. Second, I am running because I have watched 13 of the 20 largest counties in Texas turn “Blue” and we are losing ground rapidly to the Democrats. In Montgomery County, I was part of a group that has been very effective in stopping the Democrats and my intention is to implement best practices for registering Republicans and turning out the vote all across SD4.
Chris Breaux: I was asked by my county chair and a half dozen former and current SREC to run. In my opinion I am too radical towards liberty for the average Texas Republican, but maybe for SD4 I am not… We shall see.
