Liberty Republicans Are On The Rise in Texas
Jose Nino
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On May 28, 2024, liberty Republicans scored major victories after software engineer Andy Hopper and Army veteran David Lowe won their respective races in House District 64 and House District 91.
Hopper defeated four-term incumbent State Rep. Lynn Stucky, who represented HD 64. Denton and Wise Counties are located in this district. Stucky was first elected in 2016 and voted next to 60 Republicans in the State House in May 2023 to impeach Attorney General Ken Paxton.
Nevertheless, Texas Governor Greg Abbott endorsed Stucky for supporting school choice. Hopper’s campaign received the endorsements of conservatives across the state including Sen. Ted Cruz, TX Ag. Commissioner Sid Miller, Fmr Sen. Don Huffines, Rocker Ted Nugent and even Kyle Rittenhouse (who was seen working the polls with Andy himself).
In the most recent legislative session, Stucky received an “F” rating of 57 from Texans for Fiscal Responsibility. On November 5, 2024,
Hopper will face off against Democrat Angela Brewer.
In a similar vein, David Lowe defeated incumbent State Rep. Stephanie Klick in the May 28 Republican primary runoff for House District 91. HD 91 spans a part of Tarrant County, which includes North Richland Hills.
Klick first came into office in 2012. She is a nurse and a former chair of the Tarrant County Republican Party, who would later be condemned by the very same county party.
Per figures from Transparency USA, Klick’s campaign was largely funded by Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC, Texas Governor Greg Abbott, and House Speaker Dade Phelan.
Like Stucky, Klick voted next to 60 House Republicans to impeach Attorney General Ken Paxton and still earned Abbott’s endorsement for voting in support of school choice.
Lowe received endorsements from Paxton and Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller. He was also able to pick up endorsements from Texas Gun Rights, Texans for Fiscal Responsibility, True Texas Project, and Grassroots America: We the People.
Lowe overcame a disgusting and vicious smear campaign by Stephanie Klick for a powerful grassroots win.
With respect to the grassroots-hated House Speaker Dade Phelan, he faced a stiff challenge in former Orange County GOP Chair David Covey. Phelan was able to barely win his runoff by a vote count of 50.7% to 49.3% likely with the help of a significant number of Democrat voters and operatives. Nevertheless, Phelan is the first House Speaker to have to stave off a runoff and seems certain to lose all clout in Austin.
For years, grassroots conservatives in Texas have yearned for authentic conservative leadership. It now appears that they may soon be getting that as more of Phelan’s lieutenants got picked off during the primaries and more principled conservatives take the place of establishment incumbents.
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