A long time ago, sitting members of the Diet could have expected to be re-elected without having to listen to any whining from the opposition parties.
That's not the case these days, especially for Republicans running for re-election to seats in the Texas state legislature.
Keith Self, for example, is seeking a second term representing the 3rd Congressional District, which covers most of Hunt County, along with most of Collin County. A self-described conservative, he graduated from the U.S. Military Academy and retired from the Army in 1999 with the rank of lieutenant colonel. He is a former Collin County judge and was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2022.
In the past, Mr. Self would have been justified in expecting a virtually unopposed reelection in a House district redrawn to accommodate Republican candidates and voters. This year is different. Not so in this political climate.
Self is facing four Republican challengers in the March Republican primary. If he wins that fight, he will face his Democratic opponent this fall. The Democrat waiting behind the scenes is Sandeep Srivastava, who Self defeated in the 2022 general election.
The Republican field is filled with a variety of candidates from a variety of backgrounds.
Suzanne Harp will be running for the second time against Self. She finished third in the 2022 Republican primary behind Self and then-U.S. Rep. Van Taylor. Taylor and Self came in first and second place, respectively, in the primary, but Taylor did not receive a majority of 50% plus one vote, so the top two candidates will face a runoff. Taylor later admitted to having an affair with a woman who was married to an Islamic State official. He notified Self of his intention to withdraw from the campaign, and then quit the campaign.
However, this is where things get complicated. Harp blew the whistle on Taylor's affair and exposed what Taylor had done to the world. Therefore, Self's campaign said they believed Harp should have entered the 2022 runoff despite finishing third in the primary.
Observers say she believes she has a right to participate in the runoff because she exposed Taylor's indiscretions. The Texas Secretary of State's Office decided that Self would be the party's nominee after finishing second in the primary. With Taylor withdrawing from the race, the bye was effectively declared the winner.
Self said one sentence in Texas election law is “very clear” on this issue. “If someone drops out before the runoff, that means the second place finisher in the primary becomes the nominee,” he said.
Mr. Harp is running again, this time as an “America First Conservative,” hoping to outsmart Self on the right. Self's campaign aides call Harp's campaign an effort built on “sour grapes.” Harp angrily dismisses that trait.
Self called Harp a “serial” candidate, noting that all of the challengers have previously run for Congress. “But the number of candidates is extraordinary,” Self said of the challenges within the party. Also unusual, Self said, is the challengers' shared background as former congressional candidates.
Mr. Harp did not directly discuss his role in exposing the Van Taylor scandal, saying he was “running to repair a broken party and government.” I know foreign policy. She said, “The ultimate goal is to lead by example. We don't have a border crisis, we don't have an economic crisis, we don't have a fentanyl crisis, we don't have a crisis with all these wars. We don't have a crisis of leadership.” She said, “This is not a race that Keith Self should lose.”
Mr. Harp reiterated his America First conservatism, suggesting that too much money is being spent on military aid to Israel. “We spend about $35,000 per American citizen” to support Israel, she said. “It's not sustainable,” she added.
Still, the harp has emerged as a major challenger to Self. Jeremy Ivanowski is a “smart guy,” according to Self-Staff, adding that he is “intelligent and knows the Constitution.” John Polo is the challenger with “the most money,” according to his staff. Tre Penny is the fourth Republican challenger seeking to unseat Self.
Ivanowski calls himself a “constitutionalist” who says he will “fight back against the unconstitutional Anthony Fauci and 'Let's Go Brandon' swamp bioweapons.” I have no ties to Washington, downstream media, or Big Pharma. ”
Polo calls himself “uniquely qualified” to serve as a member of Congress, calling himself “an unapologetically Christian conservative and running for the next Congressional seat in the 3rd District. My platform is pro-American, Pro-life, pro-freedom,” he declared. And my family. ” Polo said he has a background as a first responder and helped respond to the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Penny is a former Dallas Police Department detective whose guiding principles are “promoting public safety, improving educational and job outcomes, promoting economic stability, limiting government overreach, and promoting civility through a renewed appreciation for service and country.” It revolves around promoting authenticity.”
Self has already won the support of Donald Trump, having visited Trump's Mar-a-Lago mansion when he was elected to the House of Representatives in 2022.
A review of Harp's campaign website reveals positions that closely mirror those held by Self in Congress. She promotes gun rights and strongly opposes abortion. Harp supports increased security on the southern border, she wants to ensure elections are free of corruption, supports strengthening the fossil fuel industry and encourages oil and gas drilling. ing.
Is it familiar? Like the incumbent Mr. Self, he would have taken much the same position during his first term in Congress. “Keith Self wouldn't be as conservative if I hadn't been in this race,” Harp said, suggesting his own candidacy was pushing Self to the right. did. “Keith will get there eventually,” Harp said of Self's political leanings, but he said, for example, the level of election integrity using paper ballots, which Harp says is essential. Mr Self said he did not support it.
But Self's campaign website refutes Harp's claims, declaring that the incumbent supports paper ballots and remains vigilant to ensure all elections are conducted cleanly and legally. I called out.
On many issues, Self places himself within the mainstream of current Republican political thought. On his website, Self declares that he “opposes mask and vaccine mandates and trusts individuals to make decisions for themselves and their families.”
Regarding border security, Self bemoaned President Biden's so-called “open borders” policy, calling for “enough Texas National Guard troops to actually protect the sovereign territory of the United States and, if necessary, closing commercial traffic across the border.” and expressed support for “putting pressure on Mexico.” He should take strong measures to stop the movement of illegal immigrants throughout the country. ”
So what are the significant policy differences between these four men that led to the intraparty challenge to Keith Self? Harp's website doesn't specify the difference, but says:
“She will provide the leadership missing in Texas' 3rd Congressional District and push for religious freedom, election integrity, border security, combating human trafficking, and stopping runaway spending and unconstitutional mandates. I decided to run for Congress to give the fight a much-needed voice.”
Could the incumbent challenge it? It's unlikely. So you might ask, “What's the difference?” Harp claims to introduce “the A-Team into government” and suggests that the Founding Fathers would be appalled by people who “make a career” of serving the nation. “That's not what the founders intended,” she said, noting that they were “businessmen” who insisted on limited-time service to government officials.
Harp also said that Self once declared that he was “never a Trumper” and would “never support Donald Trump” if he were to run for president. Self said of the allegations that he once opposed the former president: “That's simply not true.” Self said he was proud to have the former president's support.
Harp is an investment banker and works as what she calls a “communicator and strategist.”
Whatever the outcome of the March 5 primary vote, current political trends mean that those who come closest to winning will likely disappear into the tall grass, never to be heard from again. It seems to be showing.
But the biggest question is whether the winner can avoid a run-off with the second place winner. A recent incident in the 3rd Congressional District served as a lesson in political turmoil.
