Six of our Republican US Representatives in Texas are not running for reelection this year and the primaries to replace them feature a large number of candidates to choose from. Democrat Rep Lizzie Fletcher’s seat in west Harris County that had previously been held by Republican John Culberson is also considered a “toss-up”.
I would like to see these open seats filled with lawmakers who are pro-life, strong on border security, and take sensible stances on immigration reform. If these issues are important to you as well, please consider supporting the candidates I recommend below.
CD-7 (West Houston) Jim Noteware
CD-11 (Midland and Odessa) Casey Gray
CD-13 (North Texas) Josh Winegarner
CD-17 (Waco and Bryan) Scott Bland
CD-22 (Sugar Land and Rosenberg) Bangar Reddy
CD-23 (Between San Antonio and El Paso) Tony Gonzales
CD-24 (Coppell and Carrollton) Beth Van Duyne
CD-7 Jim Noteware (West Houston including Bellaire, Bunker Hill Village, Hedwig Village, Hilshire Village, Hunters Creek Village, Jersey Village, Piney Point Village, Southside Place, Spring Valley Village, and West University Place)
Noteware is a real estate developer who is seeking the Republican nomination to take on Democrat Rep. Lizzie Fletcher in November. Regarding pro-life he says,“We simply cannot stand by and let the increasingly radical Democrat agenda devalue life and subject ourselves to the risk that our life will be deemed insufficiently worth of protection at the end of our lives.” On immigration, “He supports building a wall on our southern border, utilization of enhanced surveillance technologies and the use of other immigration enforcement tools such as E-Verify.” He also believes Congress must create “a fair and enforceable immigration system that will enable those in our country illegally to register, pay a fine, and have the option of earning citizenship. Otherwise they must agree to annual registration as a resident alien.”
CD-11 Casey Gray (Andrews, Midland, Odessa, San Angelo, Granbury, and Brownwood)
Gray is a Navy veteran and one of ten Republican candidates seeking to fill retiring Rep. Michael Conaway’s open seat. He says he is “100% unapologetically pro-life,” and believes “life starts at conception and there will never be an excuse to murder a baby.” He supports improving border security and building the wall, and proposes that we create “a guest-worker system that will provide immigrants an opportunity to fast track their immigration status through a system that will track their contributions to society.”
CD-13 Josh Winegarner (Amarillo and Wichita Falls)
Winegarner is one of fifteen Republican candidates looking to win retiring Rep. Mac Thornberry’s open seat in North Texas. He is endorsed by Texas Alliance for Life, and says he is “100% pro-life and will fight to overturn Roe v. Wade.” As Director of Government Affairs for Texas Cattle Feeders Association he issued a statement on their stance on immigration reform that said, “Support immigration reform legislation that strengthens border security and creates a practical, year-round guest-worker program for farmers and livestock producers. Oppose amnesty, but allow workers to register, pay a penalty and obtain guest-worker status.”
CD-17 Scott Bland (Waco, College Station, Hearne, Fairfield, and Woodway)
Bland, who is President of Jim Bland Construction, is one of eleven Republican candidates vying to fill retiring Rep. Bill Flores’ open seat. Bland said he will “fight for the unborn,” and says he will work to improve border security and create a method for undocumented immigrants to earn worker visas. “If they have a clean background and can prove they are working, they’re issued a work visa card. It is not citizenship, a pathway to citizenship or the right to vote, but it would allow them to stay in this country and not have to look over their shoulder,” he said.
CD-22 Bangar Reddy (Sugar Land, Missouri City, Rosenberg, Needville, Katy, Pearland, Alvin and Friendswood)
Reddy, an IT executive, is one of fifteen Republican candidates looking to fill retiring Rep. Pete Olson’s open seat. He believes in “dignity of life for all Americans starting from the unborn child to the eldest of our senior citizens.” He says,“Curbing illegal immigration and instituting fair and expedited legal immigration,” are among his top priorities. He also shared a great article by the Cato Institute about streamlining our immigration system. It is worth a read.
CD-23 Tony Gonzales (West San Antonio to El Paso, Pecos, Marfa, Fort Stockton, Del Rio, and Van Horn)
Gonzales, a Navy Veteran who received Rep. Will Hurd’s endorsement, is one of nine Republicans looking to fill Hurd’s seat. Gonzales is “100% pro-life and believes all life is sacred, starting at conception.” He supports “the construction of a border wall where appropriate, enhanced use of technology to cover vast rural areas, increasing manpower along the border, and a modern entry/exit program.” After securing the border, he says he will work to pass immigration reform including a solution for DACA recipients. “As far as the DACA recipients, President Trump was very vocal on increasing that number… Do we need to have a process for it? Does it need to be transparent? Does it need to be vetted? Absolutely,” he said.
CD-24 Beth Van Duyne (Coppell, Carrollton, and Southlake)
Van Duyne is a Republican seeking to fill retiring Rep. Kenny Marchant’s seat. Dubbed a member of the “conservative squad,” she has received endorsements from President Trump and the pro-life Susan B. Anthony Group. She supports building the wall where border patrol says its necessary and hiring more agents to help secure the border. She also supports creating a method for undocumented immigrants who can pass background checks to earn legal status. “For those in our country who are not committing crimes or have been in the US since they were children, we should create a pathway to legal status (not citizenship) that would require them to pass a criminal background check and remain crime-free, pay fines for breaking our immigration laws, and learn English,” she said.
Early voting starts tomorrow, February 18th. Primary election day is Tuesday, March 3rd.
May God bless you, and may He continue to bless America.