Tarrant County Republican DA candidates agree on the issues. How will voters separate them?
They’re staunch believers in election integrity, secure borders and support for law enforcement. They agree on issues like prosecuting medical providers, not patients, in abortion cases, and they also agree on the notion of diverting low-level offenders to educational programs instead of sending them to jail.
So how will Republican voters decide between state Rep. Matt Krause and Phil Sorrells in the primary runoff for Tarrant County district attorney?
Sorrells, a 25-year veteran judge in the Tarrant County courts, thinks his experience distinguishes him from his opponent. Krause says his proven leadership record matters the most. But the factors that may lead to a win are a bit more convoluted as the May 24 runoff approaches. Early voting begins Monday.
As history has proven, the election may come down who the candidates can get to the polls, even with the experience or name recognition a candidate brings to the table, one expert said.
Sorrells was the top vote-getter in the March primary, with nearly 41% of the vote to Krause’s nearly 31%. Republican races featuring candidates with similar platforms usually come down to who can reach an audience and get them to show up to the polls, said James Riddlesperger, professor of political science at TCU.
For Krause to win, he has to secure votes from two of every three people who voted for someone else in the DA primary, Riddlesperger said, a feat that’s difficult but isn’t impossible. Krause’s candidacy comes with a disadvantage in that he’s never run for a countywide office, but even with Sorrells’ experience and continuous election to office as a judge, there’s still a lack of knowledge among Tarrant County voters about the judges, he said.
Criticism to Krause’s candidacy in the DA’s race has mostly come down to his lack of experience in prosecution, though the role of DA is mostly administrative. Sorrells spent time as a prosecutor in Tarrant County before being voted in as a judge in the county’s 10th criminal court tackling misdemeanor cases, a position he’s held for 25 years. Krause is a practicing attorney, but has no law office.
Sorrells highlights his experience believes it is an advantage in a job that supervises prosecutors.
“It’s hard to sit and say that you want to supervise people that that is their job and you’ve never sat in that position,” Sorrells said.
Krause said that while that experience can matter to some, it’s actions that speak louder than words. Krause argues he’s the one with the proven record of leadership on conservative issues and following through with what he says he’ll do.
The House representative hasn’t been shy about making his stances known on issues like abortion and religious freedom, and during his tenure has had a hand in bills like Senate Bill 8 that ban abortions after six weeks and the Save Chick-fil-A bill that protects people from being retaliated against for their association with a religious organization.
“With me, you know exactly what you’re getting because I’ve been a proven entity or for almost a decade now in the Texas House,” Krause said.
Where Krause lacks in experience he may make up for in name recognition, Riddlesperger said.
Krause has become the center of the state’s book debate as both local and national lawmakers push for books to be removed from school library shelves. In his position as the chair of the House’s investigating committee, Krause requested information from school districts on nearly 850 books. Granbury was one of the school districts to review the books in its library, a move criticized by the ACLU and applauded by Krause and other Republican lawmakers.
If elected to DA, Krause has said that he believes it would be his office’s job to prosecute if there is criminal content in school libraries. Sorrells said it is the DA’s job to prosecute crime, and that if the police brought a case to the office or the office investigated and found harmful materials displayed to minors, it would be something they could prosecute.
