Fort Worth-area Senate runoff reflects fight in Texas GOP. Here’s our recommendation
Special elections can take on a much different patina than just who will hold the office on the ballot. Politicos often see them as tests of power, particularly if they are intra-party battles.
So it is with Saturday’s election for Texas Senate District 30. Republicans Shelley Luther and Drew Springer advanced to a runoff to determine who will finish the term of Sen. Pat Fallon, the Republican who’s headed to Congress.
Luther and Springer illustrate the ongoing divide among Texas Republicans. Both are plenty conservative, but Luther represents the party’s far right. Her campaign is mostly funded by Midland oilman Tim Dunn, the benefactor of the staunch conservative group Empower Texans. Springer is the House member who represents much of the Senate district, which stretches from the Red River to Wise, Parker, Palo Pinto and Erath counties.
Springer, 53, of Muenster is more aligned with mainstream GOP leaders. As a House committee chairman overseeing an issue important to much of the Senate district, agriculture, he’s racked up experience that will be valuable in the upper chamber. He’s the better choice in this runoff.
BEHIND THE STORY
MOREHey, who is behind these endorsements?
Members of the Editorial Board, which serves as the Fort Worth Star-Telegram’s institutional voice, decide candidates and positions to recommend to voters. The members of the board are: Cynthia M. Allen, columnist; Steve Coffman, editor and president; Bud Kennedy, columnist; Ryan J. Rusak, opinion editor; and Nicole Russell, opinion writer.
Members of our Community Advisory Board may also participate in candidate interviews and offer their views, but they do not vote on which candidate to recommend.
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How does the process work?
The Editorial Board interviews candidates, asking about positions on issues, experience and qualifications, and how they would approach holding the office for which they are running. Board members do additional research on candidates’ backgrounds and the issues at hand. After that, members discuss the candidates and generally aim to arrive at a consensus, though not necessarily unanimity. All members contribute observations and ideas, so the resulting editorials represent the board’s view, not a particular writer.
How do partisanship and ideology factor in?
We’re not tied to one party or the other, and our positions on issues range across the ideological spectrum. We tend to prefer candidates who align with our previously stated positions, but qualifications, temperament and experience are important, too.
Much of the campaign has centered on Gov. Greg Abbott and his executive actions during the coronavirus pandemic. Luther, 47, of Pilot Point is the salon owner who defied business shutdown orders and was jailed by a Dallas judge, only to have Republican leaders, including Abbott, rally to her side — even though it was Abbott’s order being enforced.
The governor’s thanks has been continuous criticism from Luther, who says he should be dislodged by a GOP primary challenger in 2022. Abbott’s decisions in an unprecedented challenge were far from perfect. But the idea that he deserves to be thrown out of office over it is, at best, premature.
Abbott has endorsed Springer and is backing him with his own campaign money. And yet voters can be confident that Springer will be independent when necessary. He has said he wants the Legislature to put a time limit on future emergency powers and create a path for oversight even when lawmakers aren’t in session.
This race, though, should primarily be about who will best represent the district’s needs. Springer’s experience gives him a decided edge. It’s useful to have a fresh perspective such as Luther’s in government. But in the next legislative session, huge issues will be on the table. One of particular interest to this district is help for rural hospitals. They’ve had an uphill battle for years, and the coronavirus pandemic has driven them to crisis.
Another vital issue is transportation funding. District 30 includes some fast-growing exurbs such as Prosper and the Walsh development on Fort Worth’s western edge. Winning dollars for projects to support that growth takes legislative know-how.
And while experience is key, political temperament is important, too. Luther’s alliance with Dunn, along with her recent appearance at a rally that featured a speaker from Alex Jones’ noxious Infowars, doesn’t inspire confidence about her judgment or what she would accomplish in the Senate.
Luther led by just 115 votes in the first round of balloting, but with six candidates, the runoff is necessary. Although the runoff features two Republicans, any registered voter in the district can cast a ballot, regardless of primary voting history or party. Overall turnout is expected to be light, and polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.