The Case for Brazos County Democrats to Vote in the Republican Primary

First of all, this is not “operation chaos.” This is not an argument for a Limbaughvian strategy to disrupt the Texas Republican primary; this is an argument for Democrats in Brazos County to actually have a voice in the election process. In Brazos County there are twenty-one public offices in which there are Republican candidates and no Democrat candidates participating in the primaries and out of those twenty-one public offices there are ten in which there is a contested Republican primary. Out of those ten contested Republican primaries four are public offices which act as elected representatives for the constituents, including an office of county commissioner, county judge, member of the State Board of Education member, and member of the Texas State House of Representatives.

However, if you are Democrat who lives in County Commissioner Precinct 4, then you should absolutely not vote in the Republican primary. In many ways this area of Brazos County is the exception to the rule, and when it comes to politics this is the one area of Brazos County that is predominately Democrats. The Democrat Primary for Justice of the Peace of Precinct 4 has the most amount of candidates for any public office in Brazos County, as seven Democrats are competing the primary and will face one of the two Republican candidates. There is also a contested primary for County Commissioner of Precinct 4, between incumbent Irma Cauley and challenger Paul Madison. If you are a Democrat in Precinct 4 it is much more important that you vote in the Democrat primary than the Republican primary.

If you’re a Democrat who lives anywhere else in Brazos County, then there is a case for voting in the Republican primary. If you happen to live in County Commissioner Precinct 2, then you are going to be represented on the County Commissioners Court by Hugh Seale, Jerry Fickey, are Sammy Catalena. Everyone in Brazos County is choosing between four Republican candidates for County Judge; Brian Alg, Mark Conlee, Duane Peters, and Ernie Wentreck are all campaigning to replace current County Judge Randy Sims.

Texas State House of Representatives District 14 encompasses almost all of Brazos County except for the northern part of the county which is part of District 17. This is another reason why it is more important for Democrats in County Commissioner Precinct 4 to vote in the Democrat primary rather than the Republican primary; most of the precinct is located in District 17. In District 14 there are four Republican candidates in a significantly contested campaign. The incumbent, Representative Fred Brown, is being challenged by former Judge Rick Davis, former Tax Assessor-Collector Gerald “Buddy” Winn, and college professor Blanche Brick. While I will not endorse any of the Republican candidates, I will make a recommendation. Representative Brown has been an ineffective legislature and I think he should not be reelected, and Judge Davis might be the most conservative ideologically and I doubt that he would represent the entire constituency. While I was impressed with Dr. Bricks nuanced approach to issues, he lack of political experience is a liability. Buddy Winn has significant expertise in policy issues, and I found him to be somewhat of a political pragmatist. If Democrats in Brazos County want to have a voice in who their representative should be in the Texas House of Representatives, they should consider voting for Buddy Winn.

Perhaps the most important public office that will be decided in the Republican primary is the State Board of Education member for District 9. The incumbent Don McLeroy, who was the nominated chairman of the State Board of Education but was not confirmed by the Texas State Senate, is being challenged by Thomas Ratliff. McLeroy is part of group of conservative Republicans on the State Board of Education who advocate far right ideological educational policies. Ratliff has campaigned as a moderate Republican who has promoted more pragmatic ideas on how education policy should be formed. Recently McLeroy received national attention during the debate on science standards in Texas text books, and supports teaching the “weaknesses of evolution.” McLeroy is a “young earth creationist” who believe that the world is 10,000 years old, and that America was founded as a “Christian nation.” I recommend that if Democrats want to have a voice on the State Board of Education that will represent mainstream views on science and social studies that they should consider voting for Thomas Ratliff.

Democrats in Brazos County will have something to look forward to during the general election. For the first time in several years the Democrats will likely have a strong candidate campaigning for Governor; the former Mayor of House Bill White is the probably Democrat nominee and if Governor Rick Perry wins the Republican nomination then there will be a significant chance for the Democrats to take back the Governor’s Mansion. There are also excellent candidates for Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, and Commissioner of Agriculture. Democrats in Brazos County also have the opportunity continue to be represented by a Democrat in Congress, as Congressman Chet Edwards is running for reelection against one of the five Republican candidates. While there may be a good case to vote for Republicans in March there are good Democrats to vote for in November.