Good morning!

Bet you didn’t think the GOP primary runoff was going to include a transgender ranching heir putting $2 million into the Railroad Commission race…

Here is the Texas Minute for Wednesday, May 18, 2022.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

COMING TOMORROW: Exclusive Conversation With Matt Rinaldi

• Premiering on Thursday morning this week will be an exclusive conversation with the chairman of the Republican Party of Texas, Matt Rinaldi.
      
• The discussion covers the runoff election, the upcoming GOP convention, and the impact national issues can be expected to play in Texas’ November election. As a Texas Minute reader, you’ll be the first to get the links!

Worst. Presidency. Ever.

• While no one was watching, Joe Biden has deployed ground troops to Somalia. Federal politicians in general, but Democrats in particular, love inserting our nation in foreign wars… but cannot be bothered to protect our own nation’s borders.
       

• Diesel is $5.23 a gallon in Texas, and over $6.50 a gallon in California. Everything is about to get exponentially more unaffordable.
      

• Meanwhile, just last week there were 30,800 illegal aliens known to have crossed the border, according to State Rep. Matt Schaefer (R-Tyler)… and an unknown number of others who just got through. 
       

• Wanna bet Biden’s also sending baby food to Somalia?

Stogner Takes Last-Minute $2 Million Donation From Transgender Rancher

• Sarah Stogner repeatedly pledged not to take any donations, saying she would self-fund her campaign to unseat incumbent Railroad Commissioner Wayne Christian in the Texas Republican primary. Stogner has apparently broken that promise by taking a last-minute $2 million donation from a transgender heir to a ranching operation. Brandon Waltens has the details.
       
• Despite its name, the Railroad Commission regulates the state’s oil and gas industry – which makes up about a third of Texas’ economy.
       
• Ashley Watt—formerly Andrew Watt—is a transgender ranching heir whom Stogner has had a close relationship with in recent years. Stogner serves as Watt’s lawyer and lives on his ranch in West Texas. Watt has reportedly been motivated to get involved in the race after issues with an oil well near his ranch.
       
• Stogner says the decision to accept contributions became necessary to get her message out. “I’m in it to win it. And I won’t back down.”
        
• Stogner has already used the contribution for an $800,000 television ad buy. The spot is a far cry from the viral video that gained Stogner notoriety and public attention in February, in which she posed mostly nude atop an oil jack pump.
         
• Meanwhile, Christian’s campaign has reported $528,843 in contributions. 

GOP Establishment Rallies To Save Lackluster Incumbents

• With just one week left until the primary runoff elections, the establishment is lining up in an attempt to save incumbent lawmakers from losing re-election. After failing to receive more than 50 percent of the vote in the March primary election, four Republican members of the Texas House (all closely aligned with Speaker Dade Phelan) are in the political fights of their lives as they face head-to-head opposition from conservative challengers.
      
• Runoffs have never been friendly territory for incumbent legislators.
        
• In House District 91, for example, State Rep. Stephanie Klick (R–Fort Worth) faces opposition from David Lowe. She has now received almost a million dollars in establishment aid to keep her seat.
        
• “I knew inflation was high, but have you seen prices on salvaging vintage furniture lately? Wow!” tweeted former State Rep. Jonathan Stickland, referencing the legislature’s nickname for low-performing lawmakers.
       
• In nearby House District 60, incumbent Glenn Rogers (R–Mineral Wells) has received more than $700,000 in his effort to fend off Mike Olcott’s challenge. Of that, $25,000 is from Charles Butt, the heir to the H-E-B supermarket chain fortune. Butt generally gives to liberal Republicans in the primaries, and then to left-wing Democrats in November.
       
• In House District 12, State Rep. Kyle Kacal (R–Bryan) reported a haul of $462,632 from left-leaning lobbyists in the face of his challenge from businessman Ben Bius.
         
• The lone exception to big spending on entrenched incumbents appears to be Gulf Coast-area State Rep. Phil Stephenson (R-Wharton), who has raised only $53,800 in contributions to fund his runoff challenge from Stan Kitzman. 

More Runoff Reviews

• Capitol correspondent Sydnie Henry reviews two Texas House races.
     
• In House District 84, which encompasses part of Lubbock County, the open-seat runoff race pits attorney David Glasheen against former Lubbock County Republican Party Chairman Carl Tepper. 
     
• Along the Gulf Coast, incumbent State Rep. Phil Stephenson (R-Wharton) is fighting to stop Stan Kitzman from taking the House District 85 seat. That district covers Wharton, Colorado, Fayette, Austin, Waller counties and part of Fort Bend County. 

School Superintendent STILL Under Criminal Investigation

• The scandal-ridden Round Rock Independent School District is still under criminal investigation, according to documents made available to Texas Scorecard. This revelation, reports Robert Montoya, is at direct odds with statements made by school board members when they reinstated the superintendent in March.
   
• Less than a year into his tenure at RRISD, Dr. Hafedh Azaiez has been at the center of scandals tearing apart the district’s image as a “safe” suburban school district. The district has adopted a radical leftist push under Azaiez and five of the seven school board members. 
      
• Azaiez was originally suspended after Texas Scorecard exposed allegations that he had ordered his mistress to abort their unborn child, and then physically assaulted her when she refused. Other district officials allegedly threatened the mistress to keep quiet. As details emerged and public pressure increased, the superintendent was put on (paid) administrative leave.
     
• The so-called “bad faith five” majority on the RRISD school board reinstated Azaiez this spring under the claim he was no longer under investigation.
     
• Yet the Travis County Sheriff’s Office has informed Texas Scorecard the case in fact remains “an open investigation.” 

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Y’All Answered

Yesterday we asked readers how many of their family members, friends, and neighbors would be participating in the May 24 Republican primary runoff.

Slightly more than 50 percent of readers say some of their family and acquaintances would be voting in the Republican runoff, while 47.7 percent said most of theirs would. By contrast, just 1.8 percent described their social circle as “Democrats.” 

• “This is our youngest son’s first time to vote. He is well-versed in the candidates in our voting area because of The Texas Minute. I am proud to see him grow in knowledge about our rights as, first, a Christian; second, as a Texan; and third, an American.” – Gene Klutts
        
• “All of my immediate family are voting. I will drag them if necessary.” – Corey Mayo
      
• “Sadly, the May 7 election(s) have presented a confused voting base. I serve as an election judge and at least half of the people that visited my voting location expected to vote in the runoff. The legislature needs to fix the confusion related to the spring round of elections.” – Arthur Potter
       
• “I’m a public school teacher. If my colleagues knew I voted in the Republican primary and was in favor of school choice, they would rip me apart.” – [Name Withheld By Request]
       
• “If you give up your right to vote by not voting, you also give up your right to complain about the outcome.” – Tara Souther
      
• “I figure my family and friends represent the norm.  While I am encouraged that more people are turning out, there are a couple of problems I would mention. One, many that have lain dormant are also woefully uninformed and are yet to demonstrate they know how to be informed, but vote anyway. Second, the lack of information on the part of so many has, and will likely continue to keep many from the polls because they are ambiguous toward the election. That can be good or bad.  Most in the establishment can and will energize their voters.  But that also means the informed voters, many of which are anti-establishment, will turn out to vote.” – Roger Taylor
     
• “If my block is any indication of our future in Central Texas or Texas, an 80% Republican neighborhood has been mostly replaced in the past 10-12 years.  Three households have moved in from California, one from Minnesota, one from Ohio, one from New Jersey, one from New York, one from Massachusetts, and three from Mexico. In casual conversations, I sense many of them are liberal Democrats, although I have no idea as to whether they vote. There are only three households remaining that I know are  right-leaning, and two of us vote in every election.” – Patrick Bell

Your Federal & State Lawmakers

The districts displayed here should reflect those recently redrawn by the Legislature. Though the new lines do not take representational effect until 2023, they will appear on the 2022 ballot. Please note that your incumbent legislator and/or district numbers may have changed.