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BCMS LEGISLATIVE
NEWS

TEXPAC Elections Update By Christine Mojezati, TexPAC Director

Big Wins for Medicine Incumbent Losses
Medicine had an amazing night on March 6 with several physician With the highs there are always lows. We lost five incumbents who
primary wins and only a few friends of medicine not returning to were true friends of medicine. It saddens me to report we will see
the legislature. This election cycle was unpredictable, with the de- the departure of House members Wayne Faircloth (HD 23, Galve-
parture of House Speaker Joe Straus bringing much uncertainty. We ston); Roberto Alonzo (HD 104, Dallas); Jason Villalba (HD 114,
saw a big increase in voter turnout in the Democrat primary, totaling Dallas) 100% Medicine Voting Record; Diana Arevalo (HD 116, San
1 million voters, although the total Republican turnout still signifi- Antonio); and Tomas Uresti (HD 118- San Antonio), as well as Craig
cantly outperformed the other side with 1.5 million votes cast. Estes (Senate District 31, Wichita Falls) in the Senate.
In the end, TEXPAC had a 92-percent success rate in keeping I also am disappointed to report the defeat of Rep. Cindy Burkett
our endorsed candidates in the running for the November elections. in her bid to unseat Sen. Bob Hall (R-Edgewood) in Senate District
Thank you to everyone who went to the polls! 2. Senator Hall is the worst vote for medicine, and TEXPAC was
all in for Representative Burkett. We will miss her tremendously in
Big Incumbent Wins the House and thank her for her efforts on behalf of medicine.
TEXPAC was extremely successful in protecting our incumbents This election cycle was expensive and aggressive, and now med-
— and we could not have done that without you. First and foremost icine needs to face some harsh realities. The fringe groups are get-
is the primary victory of House District (HD) 59’s Rep. J.D. Sheffield, ting stronger, and the only way we can combat them is to increase
DO (R-Gatesville), who won with 58 percent of the vote, overcoming our membership. Increased membership means we’ll have more
constant attacks from big-spending outside interest groups. money to contribute to our candidates so they can defeat the enemy.
TEXPAC also helped secure victories in Republican primary races
for our champions Rep. Sarah Davis (HD 134, W. University Place); 2018 Runoff Elections —
Rep. Lyle Larson (HD 122, San Antonio); Rep. Chris Paddie (HD Incumbent and Open Seats
9, Marshall); Rep. Ken King (HD 88, Canadian); and Rep. Four Price In many races, a runoff was unavoidable. This is the time for
(HD 89, Amarillo). TEXPAC used your contributions to buy news- TEXPAC to become involved in some of these races; they can pay
paper ads, send mailers, and sponsor fundraisers for our champions. dividends in the future. The Candidate Evaluation Committee will
Thank you for your continued support; every vote and dollar really recommend in which races TEXPAC should make endorsements.
do matter! Last night, we were victorious, thanks to you. The runoff elections will take place on May 22, and the following
In North Texas, it was imperative that we brought back Reps. races will appear on the ballots:
Charlie Geren (HD 99, Fort Worth); Giovanni Capriglione (HD 98,
Southlake); and Linda Koop (HD 102, Richardson). I am proud to TEXAS HOUSE
say that through our efforts, we were able to bring back all three of HD 4 — Stuart Spitzer, MD vs. Keith Bell (Rep.)
these friends of medicine. They won by healthy margins in their Re- HD 8 — Thomas McNutt vs. Cody Harris (Rep.)
publican primary races. HD 13 — Jill Wolfskill vs. Ben Leman (Rep.)
On the border, Democrats Reps. Mary González (HD 75, Clint) HD 37 — Rep. Rene Oliveira vs. Alex Dominguez (Dem.)
and Ryan Guillen (HD 31, Rio Grande City) had heavy opposition HD 46 — Sheryl Cole vs. Chito Vela (Dem.)
from certain interest groups. However, they also were able to fend HD 54 ¾ Rep. Scott Cosper vs. Brad Buckley (Rep.)
off their opponents with the hard work and help from local physi- HD 62 — Reggie Smith vs. Brent Lawson (Rep.)
cians in the district. HD 109 — Carl Sherman vs. Deshaundra Lockhart Jones (Dem.)
HD 121 — Steve Allison vs. Matt Beebe (Rep.)
Finally, TEXPAC was instrumental in the primary victories of
three freshman who had opponents. They are: U.S. CONGRESS
HD 18 — Rep. Ernest Bailes (R-Huntsville) CD 2 — Kevin Roberts vs. Dan Crenshaw (Rep.)
100% Medicine Voting Record CD 5 — Lance Gooden vs. Bunni Pounds (Rep.)
HD 55 — Rep. Hugh Shine (R-Temple) CD 6 — Jake Ellzey vs. Ron Wright (Rep.)
HD 64 — Rep. Lynn Stucky (R-Denton) CD 6 — Jana Lynn Sanchez vs. Ruby Fay Woolridge (Dem.)
CD 7 — Lizzie Pannill Fletcher vs. Laura Moser (Dem.)
Incumbent Runoffs CD 21 — Chip Roy vs. Matt McCall (Rep.)
Unfortunately, TEXPAC-endorsed Reps. Rene Oliveira (D- CD 27 — Beck Bruun vs. Michael Cloud (Rep.)
Brownsville) in HD 37 and Scott Cosper (R-Killeen) in HD 54 were CD 27 — Roy Barrera vs. Eric Holguin (Dem.)
forced into a runoff in their primaries. Other incumbents we en-
dorsed narrowly defeated the challengers and avoided a runoff.
TEXPAC will continue to be involved with and support our en- For more information contact Mary Nava, BCMS chief
dorsed candidates. government affairs officer at mary.nava@bcms.org.

10 San Antonio Medicine • April 2018