Citing the impeachment of Attorney General Ken Paxton as a catalyst for his decision, conservative activist Tom Glass has announced his candidacy for the Texas House.
The announcement sets up a rematch between himself and State Rep. Stan Gerdes (R–Smithville). Glass ran in a five-way open race for the House District 17 seat last year, but came in third.
Glass is a longtime activist and a retiree from ExxonMobil. He manages an organization called Texas Constitutional Enforcement, which focuses on the federal violation of Texans’ rights and executive overreach, as well as a group called Protect the Texas Grid, which focuses on protecting the Texas energy grid from all hazards. He was also the recipient of the Conservative Leader Award in 2021.
Glass called the Paxton impeachment the “crystalizing event” motivating him to run again.
“It is not lost on the Republican primary voters of HD 17 that the Austin swamp went after Paxton for the same reason the DC swamp is going after Donald Trump. Both have been effective in defending us from the Deep State, and we need an elected official in Austin who will help defend against the globalist and Marxist assaults on us, not join in them,” said Glass.
Gerdes, meanwhile, was among the 60 Republicans who voted to impeach Paxton at the end of May.
House District 17 consists of Bastrop, Caldwell, Lee, Milam, and Burleson counties.
As of publishing, Gerdes did not respond to a request for comment.
