Just as the third special legislative session concluded, the attention of many lawmakers has turned to the 2022 primary election season.
One of the lawmakers who already has an announced challenger is State Rep. Bryan Slaton (R–Royse City), who currently represents Texas House District 2, comprised of Hunt, Hopkins, and Van Zandt counties.
Slaton is a first-term lawmaker who ousted long-term former State Rep. Dan Flynn (R–Canton).
Slaton received the highest score among his colleagues on the Texans for Fiscal Responsibility Index, rated as a 98 out of 100. Rice University’s legislative index ranked Slaton as the third most conservative lawmaker of the 150 total lawmakers in the House of Representatives.
During the 87th regular legislative session earlier this year, Slaton championed legislation to finish the construction of a border wall started by former President Donald Trump. Such legislation had not been prioritized by Republican leadership, along with Texas GOP legislative priorities like abolishing abortion, protecting monuments, and prohibiting the gender mutilation of children.
He authored a House rule proposal to prevent Democrat lawmakers from being committee chairmen and was one of only two House lawmakers to vote against electing House Speaker Dade Phelan. He successfully got an amendment adopted onto the state budget that emptied out the Texas Enterprise Fund, which provides corporate welfare. Slaton also consistently took issue with House Republican leadership not prioritizing their own party’s legislative priorities in a timely manner.
Most recently, he has called on Gov. Greg Abbott to bring lawmakers back for a fourth special session to pass legislation banning COVID vaccine mandates.
His newly announced challenger, Clyde Bostick, is a pastor at Caddo Mills United Methodist Church. In Bostick’s announcement on Wednesday evening, he stops short of giving any specifics as to why he is challenging Slaton.
To fight against governmental overreach, to eliminate the state property tax, to eliminate state-mandated testing, and to defend our borders against any threat that may come to it.
What is Next?
The 2022 primary election date is somewhat up in the air at the moment, contingent on the final approval of the delayed decennial redistricting boundaries recently passed in the third special legislative session and awaiting Gov. Greg Abbott’s consideration.
In the second special legislative session, the Legislature passed legislation that would set specific dates for the candidate filing period, primary election, and primary runoff election, dependent on when the final approval of the redistricting boundaries took place.
