Police group condemns Fort Worth area lawmaker; he says attacks are recycled
The Fort Worth Police Officers Association is condemning a North Texas state representative who is seeking reelection for claims that he has ties to offshore gambling and pornography websites.
The association in a Jan. 22 news release criticized Rep. David Lowe, a North Richland Hills Republican, for allegedly engaging in “domain capture” schemes to direct web traffic to illegal offshore gambling sites.
The police association cites a research report that the association said was commissioned by the Protect and Serve Texas PAC. It suggests that Lowe used slightly altered web domains to direct users to gambling websites and then potentially profited off of users’ gambled money.
The report also alleges that there are links between Lowe and “adult” websites.
The political action committee was behind a similar mailer when Lowe ran for the House District 91 seat in 2022.
In a Thursday statement, Lowe responded that his political opponents are “recycling old attacks” that he addressed years ago.
Lowe in May 2022, while running against then State Rep. Stephanie Kick for the Texas House, posted on Facebook that “over a decade ago” he “bought and sold hundreds of web domains in bulk” to earn extra money.
The post was in response to the Protect and Serve Texas PAC mailer, which said Lowe once owned a website called FindSomeSex.com.
Lowe called the mailer “incredibly misleading” in the 2022 Facebook post. At the time, Lowe said he “never ran these websites but would buy the domains solely to resell them,” and expressed regret for the practice, which he said was done during one of the lowest points of his life as he adjusted to life after military deployment and faced an impending divorce.
He addressed the subject again in 2024 when running for the seat during an interview KXAS-TV (NBC 5).
The Fort Worth Police Officers Association, which has endorsed Lowe’s 2026 Republican Primary opponent Kyle Morris, says the report shows that Lowe “was not merely a passive buyer of web domains as he claimed, but a participant in industries that prey on the vulnerable.”
“Texas deserves a representative who upholds the law,” a news release from the police association reads.
The report was conducted by ObsecureIQ, which describes itself as providing “uncompromising privacy and intelligence services for people with everything to lose.” On LinkedIn, the business says it offers risk mitigation services for organizations and digital footprint services to help customers “take control” of their personal information.
The Protect and Serve Texas PAC is a political action committee “supporting candidates across Texas who support public safety, back law enforcement and first responders, and work to decrease violent crime.”
The political action committee did not return emails seeking comment.
Campaign finance records show that the political action committee has contributed $12,500 worth of “campaign research” to Morris, Lowe’s primary opponent. Morris’ campaign said that the contribution was for the report shared with the campaign.
The Protect and Serve Texas PAC brought the information to Morris’ campaign, which then shared it with the Fort Worth Police Officers Association, said campaign spokesperson Craig Murphy, a political consultant who also works with the police association. Murphy said the association makes its own endorsement decisions. Murphy said a person he declined to name came to the political action committee to initiate the research, but said it was the PAC that ultimately paid for it.
Lowe declined to elaborate on the report’s validity beyond his Thursday statement, which was sent by text message. He did not immediately respond to a call or follow-up text message requesting further comment on Monday.
“My opponent and his allies are recycling old attacks that I addressed years ago because he cannot challenge my record as your State Representative,” Lowe said. “The voters of House District 91 know my past mistakes, my repentance nearly a decade ago, and the life I’ve built since through faith, family, service, and hard work.
I kept my promises in the Texas House, earned a record as one of the most conservative members, and received endorsements from Donald Trump, Greg Abbott, the Tarrant County Law Enforcement Association, and grassroots conservatives across the state. I ask for your prayers for my family as we go through this, again.”
Lowe lost his 2022 bid against Stephanie Klick, but defeated her in a May 2024 primary runoff election. He is serving his first term in the Texas House.
House District 91 includes Haltom City, North Richland Hills, Richland Hills and Watauga, as well as part of Fort Worth.
In a Friday interview, Morris, whose daughter was lured from a Mavericks game as part of a sex trafficking ring, said public safety is his top campaign priority.
Morris said he was shocked by the report’s findings.
“I don’t know what was brought up or said necessarily in detail in the past, but I think this report definitely showed that there was more behind it than what he had told people,” Morris said.
