Good morning, 

Today is President’s Day – who has been your favorite president, and why? I’ll publish a few of the best (and briefest) responses tomorrow.

Early voting starts tomorrow for Texas’ March 3rd primary elections. From the White House to the courthouse there is a lot on the ballot, which makes up today’s Texas Minute.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

Monday, February 17, 2020
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• Texans for Fiscal Responsibility offers select endorsements in state and federal elections for executive and legislative posts. Endorsements for judicial positions are made by Texans for Courageous Courts. 
     

• I also recommend to you the endorsements of our friends at Young Conservatives of Texas, Texas Right to Life, Texas Home School Coalition, Gun Owners of America, and Club for Growth.
     

• No president in modern history has delivered, or attempted to deliver, on his promises like Donald Trump. You may or may not like his style, but the results are what matter. Like so many presidents before, he promised to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem. But unlike them, he delivered. 
      

• Despite previous Republicans trumpeting pro-life rhetoric, the Trump Administration has made the most pro-life reforms in history. The same goes for reducing the regulatory burdens imposed by the runaway administrative state.
     

• Establishment Republicans revile the president for the same reason Democrats do: Donald Trump is doing what he promised. As a result, President Trump’s re-election was the first endorsement made by Texans for Fiscal Responsibility in the 2020 campaign cycle. 
     

• Federally, all of Texas’ 36 congressional seats are up for election, of course, as is one of Texas’ two U.S. Senate seats.
     

• At the state level, the highest ranking officer up for election is one of the three members of the Railroad Commission – the agency principally charged with overseeing oil and gas regulation. Ryan Sitton has proven himself a competent officeholder, focused on his job rather than angling for the next office, and has earned re-election.
     

• Statewide judicial posts for the Texas Supreme Court and Court of Criminal Appeals will be on your ballot. Similarly, all 150 seats in the Texas House and half of the 31-member Texas Senate are up for election. 
      

• Our friends at Transparency Texas note that there are “65 primary battles for Texas House of Representatives — 29 Republican and 36 Democrat. The winners of those contests will advance to the general election in November.”
   

• Approximately half of the state district court judgeships, county-level courts, county commissioners, and justices of the peace are also up for election.
     

• As I have previously written, the bottom of the GOP ballot will include 10 non-binding policy statements on which the voter can agree or disagree. (I’ll be supporting all 10.)
     

• I should note that our Democrat friends in Texas will be trying to select a presidential nominee to lose to Donald Trump. Their cast of socialist misfits and communist thugs is undistinguished, but offers a glimpse at what their party wants to do to America. 
      

• Early voting runs from Feb. 18 through Feb. 28; primary election day is March 3.

• It’s fashionable to be critical of the money in politics.
      

• For the 2016 election cycle, approximately $6.5 billion in total was spent by presidential and congressional candidates’ campaigns and the political action committees supporting them. In contrast, the fast food industry alone spends close to $5 billion every year on advertising.
      

• Meanwhile, the federal government spends approximately $13.1 billion of your money every single day. That’s $4.79 trillion per year – or 21.6 percent of the Gross Domestic Product.
      

• The nice folks at Transparency Texas have put together a great look at the myths about money in our state politics.
     

• If we want to reduce the amount of money spent on politics, we must reduce the power and influence of government.

Your Federal & State Lawmakers