House District 71: Incumbent Stan Lambert draws opponent, Linda Goolsbee

State. Rep. Stan Lambert, a Republican who recently filed to seek another term in the Texas House of Representatives, has drawn an opponent for District 71 — Linda Goolsbee, an Abilene Democrat.

Both have filed with the secretary of state's office to run on their respective party's tickets in the March 1, 2022, primaries.

Lambert, so far, is unopposed on the Republican ballot, as is Goolsbee on the Democratic Party ballot.

The filing period for county, district and statewide offices ends at 6 p.m. Monday.

Goolsbee is mother of economist Austan Goolsbee, who was appointed to President Barack Obama's Council of Economic Advisors and later became its chairman.

But it was the legacy of her husband, Arthur Leon, who died earlier this year, that was her primary inspiration to run, she said, along with a desire to tackle certain key issues such as health care.

Her husband's death had her "looking for a purpose for the rest of my life," she said, and is one of the major factors prompting her to seek office.

"I was surprised, and, and delighted how many people came up to me ... and said he had done something, given them something, that he changed their lives," she said.

Lambert seeks another term

Lambert, 68, announced his plans to seek reelection in October, touting issues such as border security, public education, election integrity, safety and the redistricting process that follows each decennial census as wins.

The U.S. Department of Justice recently filed a lawsuit, challenging those redistricting plans, alleging they "deny or abridge the rights of Latino and Black voters to vote on account of their race, color or membership in a language minority group.”

Serving his third term in the Texas House, Lambert has served on a number of committees, including Pension, Investments & Financial Services; Insurance; Energy Resources; Business & Industry; and Defense and Veterans' Affairs.

He also served as an appointed member of the Sunset Advisory Commission.

Lambert said goals such as keeping the state business-friendly, strengthening education and rural health care were among other recent legislative accomplishments, adding he looked forward to "welcoming more of our neighbors into District 71," reflected by the area's growth in recent the U.S. Census.

"I remain committed to ensuring that the Big Country's voice and values are heard in Austin," he said.

Lambert in his most recent contest won 79% of the vote in November 2020, defeating Democrat Sam Hatton for a second time.

Goolsbee: Medicaid expansion critical

Goolsbee, 79, said recent "ugliness" seen in the political climate is a factor in her run.

"I think we desperately need more people in the legislature who want to govern, who want to make Texas better," rather than just win political points, she said.

She also not impressed with the legislature's record helping educators, she said, having "a lot of teachers in my family."

But key to her campaign is what she sees as an immediate need for Medicaid expansion in the state.

"We have the highest maternal mortality rate in the civilized world and we have more children who are uninsured," she said. "... Rural are hospitals closing. We've got doctors leaving Texas."

Goolsbee, who was born in Abilene, returned here after living in Southern California for 33 years.

Conservatives, including Lambert, have cited distrust of the federal government, which had offered to pay 90% of the costs, when discussing Medicaid expansion, she said.

"They said we're not going to do that because you'll (the government) take away your 90%, and then we can't afford to pay for all these people," Goolsbee said.

But taking a wider view, it makes "no sense" to not expand the program, she said.

"We are paying for other states who have expanded Medicaid, and our own care for the indigent is more expensive after not expanding Medicaid than the states that did," she said.

While COVID-19 continues to make in-person meetings difficult, she plans to campaign through signs, mailings and hopes to speak to groups however she can to court voters.

Brian Bethel covers city and county government and general news for the Abilene Reporter-News. If you appreciate locally driven news, you can support local journalists with a digital subscription to ReporterNews.com.

This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Lambert, seeking a fourth term, draws opponent, Linda Goolsbee