Texas candidate running as a Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Green Party
A Fort Worth man is running for the State Board of Education as a Democrat, Republican, Libertarian and Green Party member.
Filing for a place on a primary ballot for multiple parties is allowed, however “a person who becomes a candidate in multiple parties’ primary elections would not be eligible for a place on the general election ballot,” a spokesperson for the Texas Secretary of State’s office said in an email.
Fort Worth school district employee Daniel “DC” Caldwell, who previously ran for Fort Worth mayor, is seeking to represent Tarrant County’s District 11 on the State Board of Education, a seat held by Republican Patricia Hardy of Fort Worth. Caldwell, reached by the Star-Telegram on Wednesday, recognized the unusual nature of his bid.
“I understand that nobody hardly ever does that, but I have lots of reasons,”said Caldwell, who teaches special education at Boulevard Heights. “The simplest to articulate is really that we should have more unity and less division. Like really, I have friends on both sides of the aisle and even down the hall, as it were. I have an inclusionist rather than exclusionist philosophy. ... I’ve read the platform or value statement of the Green Party, of Libertarian Party, of the of the Democratic Party, of the Republican Party, and when it comes down to fundamentals, we actually have far more in common than we’d like to admit.”
A spokesperson for the Texas Secretary of State’s office wrote in an email that filing for multiple parties is almost unprecedented, “with the notable exception of former Gov. Shivers,” who served as Texas governor from 1949-1957. He was both the Republican and Democratic nominee in his 1952 bid.
Caldwell has filed to run in the Republican and Democratic parties, and has filed with the office applications for nomination by convention for the Green and Libertarian parties, records show.
But being a candidate in another party’s primary disqualifies a candidate from appearing on the general election ballot, according to the office.
State law says a person “who voted at a primary election or who was a candidate for nomination in a primary is ineligible for a place on the ballot for the succeeding general election for state and county officers as ... the nominee of a political party other than the party holding the primary in which the person voted or was a candidate.”
University of Houston political science professor Brandon Rottinghaus put it this way: “You can file for primaries for multiple parties but you won’t be able to win in the general if you do that.”
“Candidates who try to run in more than one party primary are effectively without any party,” he said in an email.
But Caldwell interprets the law as allowing him to appear on the general election ballot.
“It prevents you from running as an independent or running as a write in, or being nominated by more than one at the same time, but it does not prevent you from being in the primary,” he said. “But if you happen to win, you can only accept one of the nominations. That’s what it’s intended to do. That’s what it literally says.”
The Star-Telegram has reached out to the various parties about whether any of their rules have been violated. Texas Democrats declined to comment.
“This unusual matter is under review,” Texas GOP Communications Director James Wesolek said in a Thursday morning email.
The Green Party of Texas said it had not yet received a candidate application from Caldwell. Laura Palmer, a party co-chair, said the paperwork submitted to the Secretary of State’s office is necessary but not sufficient for a place on the Green convention ballot, as it must also be submitted to the party chair. Caldwell said he mailed in the form on Nov. 24.
“Once a candidate completes filing their application for nomination by convention, Green Party voters will ultimately determine candidate nominations in balloting at their precinct nominating conventions on March 8,” Palmer said in an email. “Though no party rule explicitly restricts this scenario, it is unlikely an individual using such a tactic would be nominated by Texas Greens.”
Other candidates who’ve filed for the seat include Hardy, the incumbent, and Republican Joshua Tarbay.Democrat Luis Miguel Sifuentes filed for the district Thursday, Texas Secretary of State records show.
Candidate filing ends Dec. 13.
This story was originally published December 9, 2021 at 1:37 PM.
