Republicans operating to exchange U.S. Rep. Chip Roy (R-Dripping Springs) have spent weeks brandishing their conservative bonafides throughout the deep-red Hill County district.
However at a Bexar County Republican Celebration debate in San Antonio Thursday night time, candidates have been quizzed on a unique problem they may quickly face as the latest member of the town’s congressional delegation: Representing the get together’s values in a panorama dominated by Democrats.
Texas’ twenty first Congressional District begins close to Alamo Heights and stretches northwest previous Fredericksburg, making for a deep crimson seat that gave President Donald Trump greater than 60% of its vote in 2024.
Whereas that political lean didn’t change a lot with redistricting, the brand new maps did broaden the district’s attain into blue Bexar County, the place even conservatives agree the function of a Republican official is far completely different than out in additional rural territory.
Earlier that day, most of the county’s GOP leaders and candidates have been at a San Antonio Metropolis Council assembly lobbying for extra coordination between native regulation enforcement and ICE — a perspective met with boos so loud that Bexar County’s lone Republican commissioner Grant Moody (Pct. 3) may hardly make his feedback.
“Combating over whether or not they wish to assist ICE or not — that’s a metropolitan concern,” former Bexar GOP Vice Chair Kyle Sinclair, who’s now among the many dozen candidates operating for the GOP nomination on the March 3 major poll, stated through the debate later that night time.
“It’s arduous to go from the Hill Nation space to specializing in a metropolitan metropolis and the main points that you just cope with — from the Tren de Aragua gang, to human trafficking, to drug trafficking, to police points, to crime,” he informed the viewers of roughly 150 folks at Norris Convention Heart close to the North Star Mall.
The final San Antonian to symbolize the district was Lamar Smith, a realistic Republican lawyer who served three many years earlier than retiring amid a altering get together make-up in 2018.
Since then the district’s boundaries have been drawn a lot redder, and Roy would go on to carve a really completely different fame, holding fellow Republicans’ toes to the fireplace on conservative priorities like debt administration and border safety — sometimes annoying GOP colleagues left to reply for his or her get together’s insurance policies in much less conservative territory.
Now Roy is operating for Texas Legal professional Common as a substitute of reelection, and a lot of the candidates hoping to exchange him are following his playbook.
They spent the roughly two-hour debate targeted on the shortcomings of a Republican-controlled Congress they argued has did not rein in spending and do sufficient to assist President Donald Trump’s financial and border insurance policies, with comparatively little point out of the Democrats who management zero levers of energy on the state and federal ranges.
“Now we have to cease losing our time on loopy liberals and begin speaking to our personal congressman, our personal fellow members in Congress, and say, ‘Why are we voting for dangerous payments? Why are we voting for runaway spending?’” stated Mark Teixeira, a former Main League Baseball participant who has turn into the largest spender within the race.
The crowded GOP major is more likely to advance to a Could 26 runoff between the highest two vote-takers, because the winner should have a minimum of 50% of the vote.
Stacked resumes
In a 12 months the place each events operatives say they’ve struggled to recruit candidates, the opening in Roy’s district has drawn a shocking variety of contenders with spectacular resumes — from profitable entrepreneurs, to get together management expertise, to federal appointees within the Trump Administration.
Trey Trainor, for instance, is an election lawyer from Dripping Springs who served as common counsel to many Texas Republicans. He was additionally a particular assistant to the Secretary of Protection and twice chaired the Federal Election Fee, in addition to promoted the concept Trump really received the 2020 presidential election.
“Taking a look at how cash is spent in politics, the place cash is invested in politics and politics, … you’ve obtained to have transparency within the course of,” Trainor informed the viewers Thursday. “As any individual who’s handled the federal marketing campaign finance system, handled submitting ethics studies and ensuring that everyone else within the authorities will get them performed accurately, I’m the best man to do this.”
Monetary analyst Michael Wheeler lived all around the world working for J.P. Morgan, Financial institution of America and Morgan Stanley earlier than shifting to Texas in 2019. He’s since chaired the Kendall County Republican Celebration and served as Trump’s appointee to the Small Enterprise Administration.
“We talked about lots of points tonight, however we will’t cope with immigration, we will’t cope with Greenland, we will’t cope with any of these items till we cope with this [national] debt,” Wheeler stated on the debate. “Please ship any individual to Washington to lastly cope with it.”
Software program engineer Paul Rojas labored on a group that found water on the moon after which constructed a firearms firm that provides weapons to the U.S. navy.
U.S. Navy veteran Jason Cahill was an intelligence asset in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom, and went on to construct his personal oil and gasoline firm in Boerne.
In the meantime Heather Tessmer took her diploma from St. Mary’s regulation college on to construct the agency, Tessmer Legislation Agency, PLLC.,with regional recognition, identified for its “Ever argue with a lady?” billboards.
“I can’t consider it once I take a look at the spectacular group of people that stepped up for this workplace,” Bexar County Republican Celebration Chair Kris Coons remarked to the group on Thursday night time.
But the candidate who has sucked up a lot of the oxygen within the race is Teixeira, regardless of solely shifting to Texas a number of years in the past and having little or no prior involvement in Republican politics.
On Thursday he informed the viewers he’d been blessed with a profitable profession in baseball, however that his religion referred to as on him to do one thing extra. He likened his candidacy to Trump’s in that they each had sufficient cash and fame that they didn’t must run for workplace — they did so to make a distinction.
“[Trump] went to Washington, D.C. as an outsider. He had already been profitable. He was already wealthy and highly effective and well-known,” Teixeira stated. “… I really feel like President Trump and I’ve quite a bit in frequent.”
In the meantime, volunteers opposing Teixeira have been approaching attendees on their manner out to speak about his current transfer to Texas and his lack of Republican voting historical past — an opposition tactic not often seen in such rooms.
One even distributed flyers highlighting his previous feedback about athletes needing to turn into extra vocal about stopping local weather change, and connections to a constitution college that promoted its DEI insurance policies.
“Changing Chip Roy with somebody who shouldn’t be who they declare to be shouldn’t be one thing that I feel that this district will do if we’re correctly knowledgeable,” candidate Daniel Betts, a prison protection lawyer from Dripping Springs, stated through the debate.
A deal with San Antonio
Earlier than Republicans’ mid-cycle redistricting effort, Texas’ twenty first Congressional District stretched all the way in which north to Austin.
Underneath new maps that half is gone, making a extra San Antonio-centric district that’s drawing uncommon consideration to this space within the remaining stretch.
“Not having Austin on this district … we actually must deal with what’s occurring in San Antonio, as a result of it’s now the main inhabitants base within the district,” Trainor stated in an interview after the talk.
Certainly, many candidates used their time Thursday to emphasize their connections to San Antonio in addition to their understanding of its political panorama.
Rojas described rising up in a navy household on San Antonio’s South Aspect and occurring to obtain levels in physics and software program engineering at St. Mary’s College. Tessmer talked about constructing her regulation agency right here earlier than shifting out to the Hill Nation when the courts shut down through the Covid-19 pandemic.
Northside businessman Weston Martinez touted an endorsement from former conservative Councilman Clayton Perry (D10), and talked about how his many years of expertise with San Antonio’s native policymakers formed his capability to navigate the ICE dialogue at Metropolis Corridor.
“I went straight as much as the town supervisor to ask him a query … Then I went as much as two council members … after which I went as much as the town lawyer to current the identical factor,” Martinez stated. “Why? As a result of I’ve these relationships.”
In the meantime Sinclair, who at the moment lives in U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales’ (R-San Antonio) district, stated the twenty first wanted somebody rooted in Bexar County, and that his background as a hospital govt made him the one with related expertise to probably the most urgent points on Congress’ plate.
“Bexar County covers 17% of District 21,” he stated. “Individuals don’t perceive, that’s 338,000 constituents.”
Congressional candidates don’t must reside within the districts they symbolize, however Sinclair is amongst a handful of candidates taking warmth for that truth.
Teixeira’s residence Bee Cave wasn’t in TX21 beneath the previous or new boundaries. In the meantime Trainor, who was contemplating operating for AG earlier than Roy jumped into that race, was reduce out when the Supreme Courtroom OKed the brand new maps in December.
A number of candidates sought to name consideration to the problem Thursday night time by asking for a present of palms on who lives within the district and constructing it into their responses to the moderator.
“If you’re operating for this seat and also you don’t stay in District 21, you’re operating for your self,” stated Betts. “You’re not operating for the those that it’s best to symbolize.”
Working throughout the aisle
In a county with way more Democrats than Republicans, Coons has lengthy pressured the problem of discovering candidates who can promote their get together’s concepts to a broader viewers.
On Thursday night time she tossed them questions to check that capability — delivering some combined outcomes from a gaggle for which the largest hurdle continues to be getting via a GOP major.
Cahill, for instance, fielded a query about how he’d discuss to individuals who worry the overturning of Roe v. Wade is killing ladies with ectopic pregnancies.
“I’d go along with Charlie Kirk, he was the largest advocate of life … and there may be [rarely an] occasion through which you can not convey a child to time period,” he stated — earlier than including his expertise operating a enterprise had taught him to work with folks of all beliefs and backgrounds.
Former Boerne Councilman Jacques DuBose obtained one about collaborating with native officers to ship for his district, and stated that as a Navy veteran and former councilman, he understood how essential it will be to work collectively on defending the realm’s navy installments.
“Being linked, being accessible, working with these elected officers — it is perhaps difficult in a number of the blue cities or the place you’ve gotten a liberal mayor,” he stated. “However I’d nonetheless collaborate and listen to them out.”
In the meantime Wheeler was requested whether or not the U.S. ought to separate households throughout immigration enforcement — one thing Coons joked was to organize him for when he’s interviewed by The New York Occasions.
“When you got here into the nation illegally, the regulation is the regulation,” Wheeler stated. “I’m sorry this has occurred. who began this? Obama. He’s the one which began separating the households, proper? However the regulation is a regulation, and I’m sorry, this can be a human disaster.”
Two different Republican candidates, Zeke Enriquez and Peggy McCormick Wardlaw have been unable to attend.
Early voting for the first begins Feb. 17. Discover out what congressional district you reside in right here.
Bexar County residents can obtain a replica of their customized pattern poll after checking their voter registration standing right here.
