Good morning,

Here is the Texas Minute for Thursday, May 26, 2022.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

O’Rourke A ‘Sick Son Of A B-’

• At a press conference yesterday following the tragic shooting that took the lives of 19 children and two adults at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, former U.S. Rep. Robert “Beto” O’Rourke attempted to put the spotlight on himself and his gubernatorial bid. He crashed the event and loudly interrupted state officials as they updated the public on the shooting and the resources being made available to grieving families. Brandon Waltens has the details.
       
• The scene was somber; Gov. Greg Abbott was flanked by a bevy of state and local officials, including Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, House Speaker Dade Phelan, U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz and John Cornyn, and Attorney General Ken Paxton, among others.
      
• Shortly after Abbott explained the counseling that would be made available to families, O’Rourke began shouting and interrupting those on the stage.
     
• Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick immediately called O’Rourke out, saying he was an “embarrassment” and “out of line.”
      
• Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin had even stronger words for O’Rourke: “I can’t believe you’re a sick son of a b**** who would come to a deal like this to make a political issue.”
      
• Give people time and they will show you who they are. Robert “Beto” O’Rourke showed the world he is an arrogant, self-centered, lowlife jackass.

Texas Sheriff Calls For Deployment Of School Marshalls

• Bosque County Sheriff Trace Hendricks is calling on his local school districts to implement a school marshal program “immediately.” Erin Anderson has the story.
      
• A law passed in 2013 allows Texas public school districts and open enrollment charter schools to appoint school marshals, with the purpose of preventing murder or serious bodily injury on school premises. Marshals must complete an 80-hour training course, conducted by a law enforcement academy specifically prepared to provide the school marshal curriculum.

Incumbent Stephenson Lost

• In the end, State Rep. Phil Stephenson (R-Wharton) lost his re-election bid to former Waller County Commissioner Stan Kitzman. Sydnie Henry has the details, but Stephenson managed to garner only 42 percent of the district’s GOP vote.
      
• Stephenson had been considered strong on social issues during his time in the Texas House, but fared poorly on fiscal issues – earning a rating of 43 on Texans for Fiscal Responsibility’s most recent Index. 
      
• As evidenced by the election returns, Stephenson had lost touch with the district’s grassroots and conservative voters. He also managed to run afoul of Austin’s political elite.
     
• Stephenson was the only incumbent thrust into a runoff to lose on Tuesday.
      
• Kitzman received the support of a slate of statewide elected officials, including Gov. Greg Abbott, Comptroller Glenn Hegar, and Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller. (Of the four runoff races featuring incumbents, this is the only one where Abbott did not endorse the incumbent.)

Speaking Of Gov. Abbott’s Endorsements…

• Gov. Greg Abbott’s endorsements suffered a night of mixed results. The results from open-seat races show that the governor’s support is far from a silver bullet. Brandon Waltens analyzed the trends.
      
• Incumbents who are thrust into runoff races after failing to garner more than 50 percent of the vote in the March primary have historically been doomed. There are very few examples over the past couple decades of incumbents successfully navigating a runoff election. This time, however, three of the four incumbent state lawmakers prevailed in their runoff, bucking the trend. The only loser, as mentioned above, was Phil Stephenson – who had sent a mailer falsely claiming Abbott’s endorsement.
       
• Of his eight open-seat endorsements, Abbott had a 50-50 split.
       
• Election observers noted a trend in the final weeks of the runoff: U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz made endorsements against candidates who had been endorsed by Abbott. In those races, four of Abbott’s endorsees won, compared to three of Cruz’s.

File Under: That Stings

• With all of his family’s money and decades of political connections, George P. Bush received 10,000 fewer votes statewide in his run for attorney general than political newcomer Sarah Stogner’s losing campaign for the Railroad Commission. She’s the candidate known for a risqué social media ad and a campaign funded by a transsexual rancher.
      
• If George P. had been more competent as land commissioner, and if his family had been less blatant in their push for a political dynasty, perhaps he would have done better…

Big Cities, Big Debt, Big Taxes

• As Texans combat rising gas prices and high grocery bills, citizens in three of the state’s largest cities are facing massive tax burdens. Katy Drollinger has the story. 
    
• The nonprofit Truth in Accounting recently released a report detailing taxpayer burdens in the country’s 10 largest cities. The list included three Texas cities: Dallas, San Antonio, and Houston.
     
• Truth in Accounting explained that the debt accounted for in official city finance reports is not the only burden facing taxpayers. Cities are also responsible for debt from public transportation, housing authorities, and school districts in the area.
      
• Of the three Texas cities, Houston’s taxpayer burden is the largest. Although the city’s debt per taxpayer is $13,200, Houston citizens are also responsible for debt from three school districts and the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County. When combined with county and state debts, Houston’s debt burden per taxpayer reaches $27,500.
     
• Dallas’ debt per taxpayer climbs to $26,000, while San Antonio’s is $19,400.

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.