Texas has several elections with outsiders looking in and open seats where incumbents are not seeking reelection. The heavy hitting endorsements of Ted Cruz, Greg Abbott, and Rick Perry are sure to have an impact in the Lone Star State during its open primary on March 6th. The Texas Primary has the chance to put reliable conservatives in office as opposed to the fiscally irresponsible RINOs we deal with most often. Candidates who don’t reach majority will have a runoff in the spring.

Anyone but Kathaleen Wall TX-02

Ted Poe is not running for reelection leaving a vacant seat, a theme you will gather from this article. There are many candidates running on the ballot. The worst of which appears to be Kathaleen Wall, a Democrat in disguise as a Republican. However she did snag the endorsement of Governor Abbott and Ted Cruz. Wall is sort of a Donald Trump, in the sense of a political outsider self-funding a campaign. She has poured over $5 million into the race. Her previous history is a political donor, a likely reason she has endorsements. Quite honestly, what’s best is for this race to go onto a runoff. Wall needs to undergo further scrutiny to prove she’s ready for Congress. And quite frankly a lot of questions about her arise. For instance, her opponents say that she voted for Clinton in the Democratic Primary, a questionable move if true. Then there’s also the concern about her buying this election. She’s not what I would call self-made, but she certainly married well. Other interesting candidates in this race are Kevin Roberts, Rick Walker, and Dan Crenshaw. This is not a judgement against Wall, only that I insist that she should not cross the majority threshold so early. Do research on her givings to Texas politics. The Democrats are likely to nominate Todd Litton in a massive effort to flip this seat, but the Blue Wave is still a stretch in a district where the GOP wins 60%+ of the vote for this seat.

Race Rating: Likely Republican

Van Taylor TX-03

Van Taylor serves in the Texas State Senate. His is one of the top conservatives in the legislature. Taylor is strong on both guns and protecting the unborn during his tenure in Texas. In 2016 he had a perfect conservative record in his young political career. This veteran is the real deal for voters seeking a young conservative in Congress. The Texas Third District was held for 25 years by Republican Sam Johnson. Johnson has decided not to seek reelection in November leaving a wide open seat. For Conservatives, this is a sold chance to upgrade to a stronger government limiting politician.
The Democrats don’t have as much of a chance in this election, as the Texas 3rd is a safe Republican seat. As for Van Taylor, he is the most formidable candidate with a lot of cash on hand and a powerful endorsement by Ted Cruz. This race is likely his.

Race Rating: Solid Republican

Jason Wright TX-05

In yet another race without an incumbent, their seem to be options for the voter of Texas 5th. This election will be decided on the primary seeing as Democrats don’t field a candidate every time. The most well backed candidate is Kenneth Sheets a former State Rep. who was voted out of a swing seat in 2016. He’s a former Marine and reliable conservative.
Howerver I like the potential for Jason Wright who worked on the Cruz Campaign in 2016 which earned him an endorsement from Ted. Something about his foresight in this appeals to me. And he just comes off as likable.
https://twitter.com/JasonWrightTX/status/969314900781678592

Race Rating: Solid Republican

Ron Wright or Jake Ellzey TX-06

Longtime Congressman Joe Barton is not seeking reelection, leaving a wide open race to fill the likely red seat. Leading the GOP is Ron Wright, the Tarrant County Tax Assessor. Wright has a long history of public service and has earned the endorsement of Ted Cruz. Wright has a lot of local backing as well as funding.
The other formidable Conservative is Jake Ellzey, a veteran Navy fighter pilot. His twitter seems dedicated to remembering the fallen and taking better care of veterans is a top campaign priority. Ellzey earned the endorsement of former Governor Rick Perry to counter the Cruz endorsement of Wright, along with “Lone Survivor” Marcus Luttrell.
Both these candidates seem like they would be reliable representatives for Conservatism. For fiscal conservatism, I have to go with Ellzey whose campaign is focused on security issues (border and immigration included) and reducing government. On social issues and federalism, Ron Wright has a slight edge. I won’t blame a conservative for voting either way, just keep it a friendly competition which AZ08 should have been. And if it goes to a runoff, then may the best man win.

Race Rating: Solid Republican

Edward Ziegler TX-07

Ted Cruz endorsed incumbent, John Culberson. However, Culberson is not, by definition, a fiscal conservative. Even with an (R) in the Whitehouse, he has done nothing to promote fiscal responsibility. The TX-06 deserves term limits. Edward Ziegler is running on these very points. His campaign stresses the liberal spending of Culberson and he is running counter to that. His website acknowledges that taxpayer money is not the government’s to freely spend. In this seat, the people need to enact term limits. Culberson has been in for over a decade, and the Democrats pose little opposition. Ziegler is the conservative choice in this race.

Race Rating: Lean Republican

Chip Roy TX-21

This is another race that has leftist salivating because it is a seat being vacated by Rep. Lamar Smith. The field is wider than any of the others. The seeming frontrunner is Chip Roy, former Chief of Staff to Ted Cruz, senior advisor to Rick Perry. He’s definitely an insider, even having worked with RINO, John Cornyn. Roy has been groomed for office and now is his chance. The home page of his website conveys a lot of fatigue with campaign conservatives who then turn RINO. In this wide open race, I’d trust Chip Roy.

Race Rating: Solid Republican

Alma Arredondo-Lynch TX-23

Alma Arredondo-Lynch is a political outsider seeking to unseat Republican Will Hurd. Hurd is one of the most leftist GOP Congressmen in the House. The Conservative Review Liberty Score gives him a 35%, the worst of any Texan Republican. Will Hurd also called on Trump to drop out of the race over his locker-room talk tape.
Arrendondo-Lynch on the other hand has every sign of being real conservative. On her website she quips at Hurd’s leftism stating “My opponent is the only “Republican” from the State of Texas to vote in favor of Obama’s transgender bill, forcing employers to allow these transgenders to use the women’s bathrooms. It had never been a problem before.  I grew up using transgender bathrooms; they were called outhouses.” She’s strong on guns and immigration. She’s unafraid of acknowledging the RINO in the room.
The Texas 23rd is a battleground race that the Democrats are looking to capture. I would argue that Republicans are most in danger nominating a RINO. It’s not a winning strategy, but is a likely outcome.

Race Rating: Toss-Up