2016 Election: A battle for North Texas congressional seats | Fort Worth Star-Telegram

At a time when more than two-thirds of Americans say they’re not happy with the way Congress is doing its job, every congressional member with Tarrant County ties faces a challenger on the November ballot.

These challenges come at a time when many voters nationwide are dissatisfied with Congress, believe they’ve been ignored by those in Washington, D.C. for years and are looking for change at the ballot box as they turn out in large numbers to choose a new president.

But high disapproval ratings don’t necessarily mean there will be a big turnover in Congress, said Brandon Rottinghaus, a political science professor at the University of Houston.

“The public is often disappointed in Congress’ performance as a body but happy with their individual members of Congress,” he said. “This paradox exists because people see their local member helping in the community and serving the district but perceive Congress as a whole as a bloated and inefficient organization.

“Congressional disapproval is generally lower than the executive or the judiciary, but this doesn’t always translate into support for opposition parties.”

The approval rating of Congress inched up to 20 percent last month from 18 percent in July, Gallup poll results show.

At stake in each congressional race this November is a two-year term that pays $174,000 a year. Early voting runs Oct. 24-Nov. 4, and Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 8.

Here’s a look at the contested congressional races with ties to Tarrant County that will be on the Nov. 8 ballot.

6th Congressional District

U.S. Rep. Joe Barton has served in Congress since 1985 and is seeking a 17th two-year term in office because there’s more he’d like to accomplish, including replacing Obamacare with market-based solutions, balancing the budget and fighting threats such as the Islamic State.

“I don’t think my work is done,” the 66-year-old Ennis man said. “The decisions made in Congress over the next few years will have a profound effect on the future of the country. I think I have the most conservative credentials and the leadership ability to make sure the views of the people in the 6th District are properly represented in Washington.”

Democrat Ruby Faye Woolridge, 68, is running for this post because she believes “it is time to elect a congresswoman who will fight to provide livable wages, a world-class education for all students, improved healthcare opportunities for veterans, working families, seniors and the disabled, and protect the Social Security Fund from being privatized by Republicans.”

Key issues facing Congress next year, the Arlington woman and retired educator said, include passing laws to fight the Islamic State, working to “discourage mass shooting killings involving firearms” and addressing income inequality to help the middle class.

The Green Party’s Darrel Smith Jr. is also in the race, saying he’s no politician but wants to put government back in the hands of the people.

“We should get back to real citizens being in control of our government,” the 33-year-old Arlington media coordinator said. “I understand the problems of ordinary citizens because I live with them every day. I have student loans, I have to worry about my insurance co-pays and premiums for my family, I worry about what bills I'm going to pay with this paycheck and what has to wait.”

12th Congressional District

U.S. Rep. Kay Granger, a Fort Worth Republican seeking her 11th term in office, said she never planned to get involved with politics. “But I was brought up to try and solve problems,” said the former teacher who went on to chair the Fort Worth Zoning Commission and serve on the Fort Worth City Council and as mayor before being elected to Congress.

Now, the 73-year-old says, the United States “faces serious challenges on a variety of fronts” and she wants to help. Her top priority, if re-elected, is keeping the country and its citizens safe. “We’ve never been threatened by so many different, complex threats at once,” she said.

Democrat Bill Bradshaw, 32, said he makes the best candidate because he refuses “to be bought,” and hasn’t been “corrupted by our political system.”

“I know what it’s like to make a starvation wage, to lose your job to China, to not be able to attend college without going into massive debt, to work hard and be rewarded with an economic recession and layoffs, and to watch friends and coworkers struggle to raise families in a rigged economy,” the Fort Worth machinist said.

Libertarian Ed Colliver, a 49-year-old system engineer in Fort Worth, said he is in the race to “uphold and defend the Constitution.”

If elected, he said, his top priority would be to work with House Liberty Caucus members “to find reasonable and bipartisan supported ways to end federal overreach into people’s personal lives.” He also said he would support an audit of the Federal Reserve and repealing legislation that “picks ‘winners’ and ‘losers’ in the market.”

24th Congressional District

U.S. Rep. Kenny Marchant, R-Coppell, is seeking a seventh term in office because he believes “that government should be limited and accountable to the American people.”

“Over the last eight years, President Obama has used the threat of veto to force the Congress to make laws, pass budgets and fund our military through crisis negotiation,” said Marchant, 65, a real estate developer, investor and former state representative. “The American people have witnessed this brinksmanship mentality, which has evolved into political gridlock. In January 2017, Congress must return to regular order.”

Democrat Jan McDowell, a 63-year-old Carrollton CPA, says it’s time for a new approach.

“Members of Congress need to do the job voters send them to Washington to do,” she said. “I plan to evaluate bills on more than just whether they are ‘blue’ or ‘red.’ My measuring stick will be to do what benefits the greatest number of people, not just the 1 percent of wealthy donors.”

Green Party candidate Kevin McCormick, a 61-year-old Carrollton retiree, said he’s in the race because neither Republicans nor Democrats are “capable of dealing with the problems we face due to climate change.”

The biggest issues facing Congress next year include restoring its legitimacy, not to mention addressing climate change, refugees, NAFTA, drug gangs and “sponsored terrorism in the Middle East.” The solution, McCormick said, may be replacing the incumbents this year with newcomers.

Libertarian Mike Kolls, a 53-year-old Lewisville IT Project Manager, said he’s in the race because he’s a self-described “serious student of government.”

If elected, “personal liberty must be what government talks about. Laws that restrict personal decisions are bad for everyone,” he said. “Public debate and politics is too adversarial; we need to intelligently debate ideas and take action on common interests. … Government needs to play a smaller role in everybody’s life.”

25th Congressional District

U.S. Rep. Roger Williams, R-Austin, is seeking his third term in office. The 67-year-old said he’s the right man for the job — a principled, conservative Republican with small-business experience.

“I understand the struggles that Texans and Americans are going through in the current economy,” he said. “And I have a plan to fix it.” Williams, a former Texas Secretary of State, said his top priority, if re-elected to office” is “fixing the Obama economy.”

Democrat Kathi Thomas, a 63-year-old special event designer and planner in Hays County, said she’s the best person in this race because she cares “more about people than power or money.”

Top issues, she said, include comprehensive immigration reform, climate change, getting “big money out of politics” and bipartisanship. “We can’t keep up this ‘my way or the highway,’ ” she said. “It is time to put on the ‘big girl and boy panties’ and get to work for the people, instead of just working to please the money guys to get re-elected.”

Libertarian Loren Marc Schneiderman, a 58-year-old Austin businessman, said he’s in the race because he offers new, fresh ideas and wants to “turn this political insanity into something more meaningful.”

When asked his top priority if elected, he said, it is “to ensure that all understand that the inevitable change of our way of doing things is good. We have been misled and lulled into a false perspective. We can be free, we can be prosperous again, and we can live in peace. We must be willing to take that challenge as a country, and we must fight to believe that in the U.S. Texas 25th Congressional District.”

26th Congressional District

First elected in 2002, U.S. Rep. Michael Burgess, R-Pilot Point, said he’s running for another term because he believes there’s more work for him to do — no matter who becomes the next president.

In fact, Burgess, 65, an obstetrician for more than 30 years, said it’s especially important for him to be in Congress with a new president to make sure any changes in the country’s healthcare policy are “helpful, not hurtful,” and to fight “for a pro-growth, pro-job creation agenda.” Other items at the top of his priority list include local transportation plans and a “fundamental reform” of the country’s tax policy.

Democrat Eric Mauck, a 40-year-old retail store manager and internet radio host, said he’s in the race because “we need more average people in Congress and less career politicians.”

“I’m someone who can work with both sides to get things done,” the Fort Worth man said. “I’m a Democrat but realize that sometimes Republicans have solid ideas, too.” If elected to office, his top priorities would include higher wages, reduced taxes and working to “help make healthcare affordable.”

Libertarian Mark Boler, 56, said he’s in the race because he wants to make government smaller and reduce its impact on people’s daily lives.

“If elected, I will not be beholden to lobbyists,” said the Oak Point man, a computer software and electronics hardware engineer. “I am not a politician by profession, and I want to get the government off of the people’s backs and let the people be more free.” His top priorities, if elected, would be “to give as much control taken by the federal government back to the states and to the people.”

33rd Congressional District

U.S. Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Fort Worth, is seeking a third term in this district specially created in 2012 to give North Texas minority voters a voice in Congress. The 45-year-old said he’s running for re-election to “continue to fight for not only the friends and neighbors I grew up with, but hundreds of thousands of diverse voices across North Texas.”

If re-elected, his top priorities would be to make sure “constituents have access to affordable healthcare, good paying jobs, quality education and to protect their civil rights — including the right to have unfettered access at the ballot boxes,” Veasey said.

Republican M. Mark Mitchell, a Fort Worth physician and attorney, is running for the post because he’s “weary of the congressional stalemate” in Congress and wants “to serve our nation in a manner that reflects the average working family.”

Mitchell, 60, said it is time for a “real change.” If elected, he said his top priority in office would be creating jobs for “all Texans in District 33.”

“I want a government that protects the life and liberty of every American and offers the pursuit of happiness to all people,” he said. “I am the candidate for change. … I will not just rubber-stamp what the government wants to do.”