Now that Monday’s candidate filing deadline has come and gone the question isn’t if conservatives will win on March 6th when the Republican primary polls close. Rather, it’s how much will they win?
Just like the past several election cycles, some of taxpayers’ biggest foes ran for the hills, choosing to “retire” voluntarily rather than face the torches and pitchforks of angry voters. For example, liberal Texas House Speaker Joe Straus (R–San Antonio) and his hatchet-man, State Rep. Byron Cook (R–Corsicana) have already announced they won’t be coming back.
Joining them are several other lawmakers who failed taxpayers, like State Reps. Larry Phillips (R–Sherman) and Larry Gonzales (R–Round Rock).
Still more have announced bids for higher office they likely won’t win. State Reps. Kevin Roberts (R–Cypress), Lance Gooden (R–Terrell), and Jason Isaac (R–Dripping Springs) have announced for Congress. And State Rep. Cindy Burkett (R–Sunnyvale) has launched a long-shot challenge to State Sen. Bob Hall (R–Canton) for his seat in the Texas Senate.
All told there are twelve Republican lawmakers who are guaranteed not to return when the Texas Legislature reconvenes in January of 2019. Almost all of them have poor records on the Fiscal Responsibility Index.
On the other hand, several purported challenges to the taxpayer champions in the House have failed to materialize or have collapsed before they even began.
And that’s before the primaries have even started.
All across Texas, taxpayers are sharpening their swords and looking to retire a host of lawmakers whose voting records in Austin haven’t squared with their campaign rhetoric. These are lawmakers who promised to reform property taxes but instead killed reforms and who promised to limit the size of government and instead pushed a tax-funded spending spree.
All in all, there are more than 30 contested races in the Republican primary for seats in the Texas House. In all but a few of those, the challengers offer an opportunity to replace someone who won’t stand up for taxpayers with someone who will.
Even the issues being debated are favorable to taxpayers.
Thanks to Gov. Greg Abbott’s special session, there’s a spotlight on reform efforts in the Texas Legislature and citizens know where lawmakers stand on spending limits, ending the automatic deduction of labor union dues, school choice, protecting the unborn, and other issues that matter to grassroots Texans. These will be the issues at the forefront of the next legislative session and it is simply up to voters if they will provide the reinforcements necessary to push these issues over the finish line.
On March 6th, grassroots Texans will have perhaps the greatest opportunity to positively affect the future of Texas and the nation. But with opportunity comes responsibility – to work harder than we’ve ever worked, to sweat more than we’ve ever sweat, and to fight more than we’ve ever fought in order to win more than we’ve ever won before.
The time for victory is now! Pick up your torches and your swords and join us on the battlefield!
