Congressional District 21 Run Off Election

The Texas Primary held March 6, 2018 was the first in the country.  When Congressman Lamar Smith resigned, I doubt he ever imagined that there would be 18 candidates vying for his position.  Congressional District 21 has over 800,000 residents and is the most diverse Republican district in Texas. It is a combination of military personnel, city dwellers, farm and ranch owners and many who live in the rural area called the Texas Hill Country.    

 

Chip Roy and Matt McCall are the last two standing for the May 22^nd Run Off election.  Over 71,000 voted in the primary resulting in Roy coming in with 27.06% and McCall with 16.93% totaling 43.99%.  Campaigning to win the 56.01% voters is an amazing feat.  There have been many debates inviting voters to attend to meet the candidates.  Getting out the vote will be critical on May 22.  

 

I have interviewed and listened to 5 of the debates and find that Roy is a well-rounded candidate with firsthand knowledge of the Affordable Care Act, immigration, securing the border, prolife, the economy, climate change and education.   His background alone tells of a history of working with Republicans for conservative values.  He was Senator Ted Cruz’ first Chief of Staff, and when I spoke to him on April 9, he told me, “People know that I have fought to stop amnesty, fought to stop gun registry bill, fought to protect life, fought to limit spending and done so in a fairly public fashion.”     

 

As a Cruz staff member he was able to communicate with other staff members, Senators and Congressmen.  Roy has a working rapport with Congressmen Jim Jordan, Marc Meadows and recently Congressman Louie Gohmert.  He told me that, “I have worked with all of them they know who I am.  I would be working to vote to represent this district but you have to find ways to work with others and people who have seen me in the trenches working are supporting me because they know it.  They know what I would do.” 

 

It is legal for a candidate to run for a congressional seat even if he doesn’t live in the district.   It seems that his opponent McCall because of his apparent lack of experience other than his ‘human tissue’ business is hammering on the ‘out of district’ issue.  Roy responded to this by telling me that, “I think my opponent would do well to focus on what is actually going to make a difference in the Republic instead of focusing on these ancillary issues.  I don’t think he has much to focus on that he has done and that is why he focuses on things like where my address might be.  The fact is that my wife and I live in this community; this is our home, we live in the hill country. My children go to school in this district; I have worked in this district, I was working here when I resigned to run.”   

 

Because our district is so diverse, I deliberately made it a point to see Roy in various settings from rural to urban including a Bexar County club setting.  I can truthfully say Roy was comfortable and friendly in his surroundings. Congressman Lamar Smith is supporting Roy and said that he would immediately be an effective congressman if he is elected to go to Washington and represent us.  Roy mentioned that he had worked with Congressman Smith, “I worked very closely with him and his staff on immigration to make sure we fought back against amnesty, for the rule of law, fought to stop the craziness with respect to climate change and making sure we protect our ability to have oil and gas and access to low cost and abundant and affordable energy.  These are all things he was a leader on.  I was happy to work with him. I also worked with him on constitutional issues and other issues when he was the chair of the House Judiciary committee.” 

 

I did ask him if he would work to eliminate tax funded PP and he was adamant in his reply.  “In respect to PP, it is an absolute abomination unconscionable that Americans are having tax dollars being taken out of their wallet or borrow from China to be able to go fund the murder of the unborn.” I did ask him if he would ever vote for a bill funding PP and he assured me he would not.   

 

There are always so many questions to ask a candidate and there is never enough time.   We discussed immigration and how the Rule of Law must be followed, we discussed the Affordable Care Act and how we need to get back to ‘healthcare freedom’ so that people can have affordable access to doctors and choices rather than having government forced programs and that regulations are driving up the costs and how, “We have to change that.”  We discussed the tax bill and how the estate taxes are hurting the American Dream, making it difficult for families to pass on their land or wealth to their children and grandchildren.   And no, he would NOT have voted for the Omnibus Tax bill.  

 

Why am I confident that Roy is the right person for the job?  He will establish advisory committees with people in the district to get their feedback and keep them abreast as to what is happening in DC.  He is the candidate that is knowledgeable of the issues that are facing our country, Texas and District 21.  Do I think we should be concerned that he lives a few miles out of the district, no because he lives in Hays County and his principles align with the constituents of CD21.  He has worked in the private and public sector, he is an American citizen that loves his country and that is exactly what we need, a proven conservative patriot!

 

THE RED REPORT©

RED SONJA

Fight, NEVER GIVE UP!