Battle for Texas’ 6th Congressional District

Next year’s 115th Congress has a list of priorities ranging from protecting Americans and addressing threats from terrorist groups to balancing the budget and securing the nation’s border.

All this comes at a time when members are just as unpopular as ever with constituents back home and nationwide.

U.S. Rep. Joe Barton said he’s the person constituents in the 6th Congressional District should send back to the nation’s Capitol.

“My work is not done,” the more than 30-year incumbent said. “The decisions made in Congress over the next few years will have a profound effect on the future of the country.”

Two other Republicans and three Democrats say it’s time to send a new person, with new ideas, to Washington, D.C.

And they say other issues are key, including passing term limits for congressional leaders, getting the country back to work and decriminalizing marijuana.

Republicans Collin Baker, an automotive service director, and Steven Fowler, a part-time Air National Guard officer and student, are challenging Barton for the Republican Party’s nomination.

Democrats Don Jaquess, a retired widower, Jeffrey Roseman, a limo and truck driver, and Ruby Faye Woolridge, a retired educator, are vying for their party’s nomination in order to challenge the Republican primary victor in November.

They all face off in the March 1 primaries.

At stake is a two-year term that pays $174,000 a year representing represent a district that includes most of Arlington and Mansfield and all of Ellis and Navarro counties.

Early voting runs Feb. 16-26.

Republicans

Barton, who has represented the district since being elected in 1985, serves as chairman-emeritus of the Energy and Commerce Committee, which he first chaired in 2004.

He said economic and national security are top issues in this race and, if re-elected, his top priorities would be dealing with threats from extremist terrorist groups such as ISIS, working to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, shrinking federal spending and balancing the federal government.

“Washington ebbs and flows with trendy political gimmicks and fixes,” said Barton, 66. “I am a constant defender of conservative ideals and values, and if re-elected will continue this fight.”

Baker, a 33-year-old political newcomer, said he’s in the race because current members of Congress are “out of touch with the people.”

If elected, he said he would work to limit congressional terms, restructure the Veterans Affairs hospital system and work to expand Second Amendment rights.

“I have not run or held office, but I feel this makes me an ideal candidate,” Baker said. “We continue to vote politicians in office and we continue to be marginalized and told lies. We need someone different to break the cycle.”

Fowler, 36, said he’s the best person to represent this district because he’s a conservative leader and not a politician.

If elected, he said he would work to shrink the government, reduce the country’s debt, grow the economy, secure the border, get rid of special interests for congressional members and work to create term limits.

“We need a new generation of bold leaders in D.C.,” Fowler said. “We need a new perspective. It’s time to elect leaders that will stand true to conservative principles. Leaders that will fight for family values. Bold leaders with new ideas. Leaders with the courage to stand up to the status quo.”

Democrats

Jaquess, 69, is a widowed Vietnam veteran and retired union ironworker and businessman, who said he’s the right man for the job.

Top priorities, if elected, include getting the country back to work at a livable wage, fighting to improve the infrastructure, improving education for today’s youth, converting coal burners to gas, breaking up the big banks and truly working for Americans — not members of Congress.

“My grandchildren have not got a future in this country if we don’t start rebuilding our streets, bridges, roads,” said Jaquess, who made an unsuccessful ran for the post in 2012. “We’ve got to have people in office who are not politicians, but Americans first.”

Roseman, 60, believes he has the best ideas and positions, even though he’s never run for office before.

If elected, he said he would focus on decriminalizing marijuana, hemp and “possibly other plants which can be sold in an unadulterated form,” as well as working on healthcare, gun control and the private prison system that “needs to go, along with mandatory minimum sentences.”

“Republicans, including Joe Barton, have left the bounds of political sanity ... and to some extent, true patriotism,” Roseman said. “They insist on burning down government while prostituting themselves and their party to assure that they collect the insurance.”

Woolridge, a retired teacher, said she’s in this race because “my faith has led me to believe it is time for people who have given up politics and gone silent to have their voices heard.”

If elected, the former Arlington school board and county clerk candidate said her top priorities would be to bring high-paying jobs to this area, improve the country’s healthcare plan, ensure equal pay for equal work, and help military veterans, senior citizens and the disabled.

“Residents need a representative who will serve all communities whether they are rural or urban; rich or poor; all races and ethnic groups; and those who care about the environment,” Woolridge said. “The incumbent has done a great job of representing the powerful, particularly the energy and large industrial companies.”

This story was originally published February 1, 2016 at 4:41 PM with the headline "Battle for Texas’ 6th Congressional District."