Why I’m fighting to be on the ballot as a third party candidate: Sarah Stogner
Texan conservatives are fed up. The state GOP, just like so much of the national Republican Party these days, is failing us. It’s failing to stand up to corruption, mismanagement, and the waste of taxpayer funds. It’s failing to commit to basic ethics that should serve as the hallmark of a democracy.
We’re continuing to feel the fallout from the state senate GOP acquitted Ken Paxton two months ago. “Texans and good government are the losers,” the American-Statesman Editorial Board said. “Ken Paxton verdict is an injury for Texas and conservatism: The foundation of truth and justice are broken for too many in Texas GOP,” the Dallas Morning News Editorial Board wrote. His legal troubles aren’t over. As the El Paso Times reported, Paxton’s securities fraud case is set to go to trial in April.
In recent weeks, I’ve had conversations with people across the state who consider ourselves truly conservative. As proud Texans, we want to see our state lead in every way — in building a stronger economy and a stronger future for residents; in weeding out corruption; and in setting an example for our children and for the nation. Texans want, and deserve, the opposite of what we’re getting from this state government.
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Some people say the answer is to support Democrats. But this ignores the political reality. Many of us across the state have policy differences with the Democratic Party, particularly the extremes of that party that, as in the Republican party, have an outsized influence. And many others recognize that due to such high levels of polarization, there's simply no way that millions of committed conservatives and other disaffected Republicans will turn blue. There must be something new where reasonable Republicans, Independents, and Democrats can meet in the middle and forge a new path together.
There is another way. Our political scene does not have to be controlled by only two parties. We can move forward together by leaving both parties behind. This idea is popular across the country. In fact, 63% of Americans now say a third major party is needed, with Republicans especially feeling this way, according to Gallup.
This is why, in launching a new race for the Texas Railroad Commission, I have left the GOP and decided to join the Forward Party. The party’s motto: “Not Left. Not Right. Forward.”
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Committed to rejecting the extremes that are polarizing America, the Forward Party welcomes everyone who is “willing to show up and work with people from all walks of life to find real solutions that work in your communities.” It’s especially necessary in “single-party rule” states like ours, where the party that controls state politics is working to entrench its power for generations to come and limit choice at the ballot box.
Now, I have begun an effort to get on the ballot for Texas elections. It’s a steep, uphill climb. There's confusion over how many signatures it takes, and which rules even apply. It also requires a great deal of fundraising, reach out, and volunteering.
We have big plans, and a strategy to achieve all this. And we know that now is the time.
No single party has all the answers. But in the current political climate, there must be a new way forward − a place in which people can actually unite for common good.
The stakes are as high as it gets. The hard-working, decent people who live across Texas deserve a government that works to solve our problems; that never stands for corruption; that never puts the interests of a few extremely wealthy people over the interests of the citizens; and that would never stand for the failures we’re currently seeing.
My message to the understandably frustrated voters across the state: It doesn’t have to be this way. Texas can do better. By working together, we can move forward.
Sarah Stogner is managing partner of Stogner Legal PLLC and a candidate for Texas Railroad Commissioner with the Texas Forward Party.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Why I’m fighting to be on the ballot as a third party candidate: Sarah Stogner
