Just hours after State Rep. Gary VanDeaver announced he will not seek re-election, Paris businessman Josh Bray declared his candidacy for House District 1, immediately setting up a contested Republican primary that is already turning contentious.
Bray enters a race that already includes Chris Spencer, who previously ran with the endorsement of Gov. Greg Abbott and forced VanDeaver into a 2022 primary runoff before narrowly losing. Spencer had announced his campaign earlier this year, well before VanDeaver’s retirement statement.
But questions are now being raised regarding Bray’s Republican credentials. Voting history records show that in 2008, Bray cast a ballot in the Democrat primary, the year Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton were competing for the nomination.
It’s not just the voting history raising eyebrows. Campaign finance records also show that Bray contributed financially to former Democrat State Rep. Mark Homer through 2010.
Spencer wasted no time drawing a contrast.
“It is clear Josh Bray who announced his campaign today is poised to carry the torch for liberal Obama-era values like the ones he voted for on the Democrat primary ballot in 2008,” Spencer said. “I’m confident voters will see right through his rhetoric.”
Bray did not respond to a request for comment as of publication.
House District 1 is not the only GOP race where associations with Democrat candidates have become a flashpoint.
In the Southeast Texas race for House District 129, candidate Bob Mitchell has faced scrutiny from conservative activists after financial records indicated a contribution to the late Democrat U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee. Mitchell has denied making the contribution despite the reporting.
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