Texas Action Blog

The runoff election is behind us and most Republican eyes are focused on national issues and the RNC in Tampa. While the import of those national issues is undeniable, much work is ahead for Texans. 

This has been an incredible year for grassroots activists in Texas! Not only did the efforts of TEA Party activists and conservatives from across the state yield a historic crop of strong candidates but the tireless efforts that those activists put forth carried a great number of them on to receive the Republican nomination. 

Here at Texas Action we focused the efforts of our inaugural primary election cycle on 12, highly competitive, State House races in Tarrant, Denton, Collin and Dallas counties. We endorsed principled conservatives in races where we saw a clear choice between a candidate who would fight for Texas and her interests and those who would bow the pressures of compromised leadership and special interest. 

Our goal was not to pick easy races and rack up a nice win ratio. We wanted to dive into the thick of things and put our name and efforts behind conservatives who we will be proud of in the State House. 

We endorsed Matt Krause, Pat Fallon, Stephanie Klick, Scott Sanford, Jeff Leach, Ron Simmons, Jonathan Stickland, Craig Goldman, Giovanni Capriglione, Scott Turner, Matt Rinaldi and Mike Brucia. 

10 of those 12 candidates won their primary elections (in two cases they went to a runoff) and are advancing to be the Republican nominees! Most of them either don’t have a general election opponent or do not face a strong opponent. 

Matt Rinaldi and Mike Brucia fought hard and are candidates we were proud to support but did not ultimately win their races. They remain strong conservatives and I hope very much that they will continue their fight in the years to come. They forced their opponents to be more responsive to the issues and concerns on the minds of conservative voters and those pressures will help keep Austin accountable in the next legislative session. 

I couldn’t be prouder of the 10 candidates who are headed on to November, and, I hope, to Austin!

Each of these men and women speak with conviction and fight with tenacity. I expect great things from them as they enter their freshman legislative session and hope that you will join us in holding them accountable to the promises they made during their campaigns. 

As we move forward with our November election plans, we need your help. Whether it’s volunteering, donating, or just spreading the word, please support these efforts in any way you can. 

To sign up for our email list and to volunteer, click here. 

If you are able to donate to help us support conservative candidates and continue this fight, please donate here.

Ron Swanson is a hero of mine. For the better part of 6 months I’ve actually been part of the “Draft Ron Swanson for President” movement (so far we’ve been unsuccessful but still trying…) For any of you unfamiliar with Ron and the message he has for America, I am sorry for your ignorance. It needs to be fixed and that is why I’m writing this post. 

Last night I was talking with Dustin Matocha about Dan O’Leary’s firing of himself as Keller’s City Manager and he rightly pointed out that Dan was acting exactly as Ron Swanson would have. Many thanks to Dustin for inspiring this article! (Follow him on Twitter!)

“What exactly will you be cutting (out of government) and how much of it and can I watch you do while eating Pork Cracklins?” - Ron Swanson (Parks & Rec Episode 2.23)

It is all too rare an occurrence in government to see real, selfless leadership. We love it when Presidential candidates talk about cutting departments or a department director returning part of his or her budget but we don’t often see people do things that benefit the tax-payers when it’s to their personal detriment. 

Earlier this week, Dan O’Leary fired himself. He is the City Manager for Keller and he realized that the redundancy of having a City Manager and two deputies was causing Taxpayer dollars to be wasted. In an act of genuine leadership, he fired himself and notified the City Council that his last day of work would be April 20th. 

I’m not sure if Dan knows who Ron Swanson is or whether Ron inspired his action (how cool would that be?!) but I know Ron would be proud! 

Mr. O’Leary did a great service for the City of Keller and has inspired a lot of folks through his Swanson-esque leadership style. I applaud him for him and hope you will too!