House race in Parker County shows classic Texas GOP split. Here’s our endorsement | Opinion
House District 60 is one of the more obvious examples of the divides in the Texas Republican Party. The primary is a rematch of 2022 between Rep. Glenn Rogers and Mike Olcott.
Rogers remains the better option for the district, in part because he’s standing against West Texas billionaires Tim Dunn and Farris Wilks, who are pouring money into primaries to elect hard-right candidates such as Olcott.
Rogers said in our candidate interview that he is “fighting back what I consider a cancer on our state, Tim Dunn and Farris Wilks, taking over our governments. We need people that can’t be bought that will vote for our district.”
Rogers, 66, has made a point of fighting school-choice legislation, drawing opposition from Gov. Greg Abbott in this race. Rogers said vouchers would ruin his district’s great public schools, which keep their small communities together. Recently, Rogers, a rancher who lives near Graford, also called for the elimination of the Texas Education Agency, which he dubbed an unelected bureaucracy. He said he wants to put “more power back into the elected State Board of Education and clarified for us that many of the agency’s functions — including, crucially, school accountability — could be absorbed by other parts of state government.
House District 60 is mostly rural, covering Parker, Palo Pinto and Stephens counties. But it includes fast-growing areas such as Aledo and Weatherford, bringing a mix of concerns about growth — especially ensuring an adequate water supply.
Olcott, who did not respond to our interview requests, also has the support of Sen. Ted Cruz and Attorney General Ken Paxton.
Early voting in the primary begins Tuesday and runs through March 1. Election Day is March 5. There are no Democratic candidates, so the GOP winner is all but certain to capture the seat in the fall.
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.
Read more by clicking the arrow in the upper right.
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.