Here’s what any candidate who wants to replace Kay Granger must offer GOP voters | Opinion
After serving nearly three decades in the U.S. House, Rep. Kay Granger has announced she will not seek re-election in 2024. There is a lot that could be said about Granger’s time in public office, but I think it’s best to commend her for her commitment to serving our community and to wish her the best as she spends more time with her family.
What is important now is that Republican voters in the 12th Congressional District rally around an America First conservative to represent our values in the U.S. Capitol. When I ran for Tarrant County GOP chairman, I promised I would remain neutral in primaries. I intend to keep that promise. As a voter in the 12th Congressional District, however, I think we must talk about the kind of candidate our community deserves to have represent us in Washington.
Our district is incredibly conservative, and in terms of votes, it is one of the more Republican districts in the country. In the last election, Republicans out-voted Democrats by almost 30 percentage points and nearly 70,000 votes. In 2020, President Donald Trump won 60 percent of the vote.
Any candidate seeking my vote or those of my neighbors must have strong conservative credentials worthy of our voters. To put it simply, they must be dedicated to defending our nation and putting the interests of our citizens first.
That starts with a commitment to a secure border and a strong national defense. Right now, our state is under invasion at the border with Mexico. As someone who owns land in South Texas, I’ve seen firsthand the cost of Democrat Joe Biden’s presidency and his contempt for American security and sovereignty. Immigrants violate our laws and cross into our state with impunity. Once here, they take jobs from American citizens and subsidies from American taxpayers. This is unsustainable and wrong, and it can’t be allowed to continue.
Whoever represents the 12th District must be committed to solving this crisis, protecting the rule of law, and ensuring that our immigration system serves the interests of American citizens.
Another core requirement of America First conservatism is a commitment to a strong military and discernment regarding global affairs. With the Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth in our district, we have an abundance of military personnel and their families, and we need our representative in Congress to have their back.
Under Trump, we were building a strong military, on track to reducing military involvement abroad and forging peace in the Middle East through the Abraham Accords. Under Biden, Ukraine has been attacked by Russia, Israel has been attacked by Hamas, and Taiwan is under threat from Communist China.
Any candidate campaigning for my vote must be committed to Trump’s policy of peace through strength, defending Israel’s right to exist in peace, and considering American interests first in any foreign policy discussion.
Lastly, the right candidate should have an established record of conservative convictions. That includes being 100% pro-life and 100% pro-gun rights, without exception. That includes standing with our voters in opposition to the impeachments of Trump and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. And it includes a record of supporting proven conservatives such as U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and County Judge Tim O’Hare.
In the coming weeks, I expect our mailboxes and cell phones to be inundated with messages from all sorts of candidates claiming to be all sorts of things. Among them, I hope to find at least one individual committed to the principled leadership necessary to represent our district the way it deserves and help drain the Washington swamp.
Bo French is chairman of the Tarrant County Republican Party.
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