ALEDO — As the legislative debate on redistricting has now come to a close, more state elected officials are either retiring or playing musical chairs with the newly revised districts. State Rep. Phil King (R–Weatherford), who currently represents House District 61 (which encompasses Parker and Wise counties), has recently announced his intention to run for the newly drawn Senate District 10. This new Senate district now includes six counties as well as parts of Parker and Tarrant counties.
Parker County is now entirely written out of House District 61. Parker, Stephens, and Palo Pinto counties now comprise House District 60, which already has an incumbent representative: State Rep. Glenn Rogers (R–Graford).
This is the incumbent’s first term in the Texas House. In 2020, Glenn Rogers (R-Mineral Wells) beat Jon Francis after former State Rep. Mike Lang vacated the seat. Now, Roger’s district encompasses Parker County, as well.
As of Tuesday, Rogers has a challenger. In a statement released this morning, conservative activist and leader Mike Olcott has formalized his campaign for HD 60. In 2020, when Rogers beat Francis by roughly 300 votes, Olcott and his organization, Parker County Conservatives, supported Jon Francis.
Olcott has been heavily involved in state and local politics for many years, having served as a member of the SREC from District 30 in 2015-2016 and as a Parker County precinct chair since 2014. After years of criticizing Austin RINOs, Mike says he has decided to take his fight to Austin with the support of his friends and family.
“I am running because despite Republicans holding a strong majority in Texas, we still have an open border, skyrocketing property taxes, and have not audited the 2020 elections here in Texas despite the fact that Donald Trump requested it,” said Olcott. “Over 90% of Republicans have clear opinions on these issues and as their State Representative, I will fight to deliver real results, not campaign platitudes. Texas can only be a lighthouse for the nation if we have courageous legislators willing to fight for us.”
