2018 Harris County Republican Party Endorsement Slate Tracker

With early voting starting tomorrow, we thought it would be a fun exercise to compare some of the most popular Harris County Republican Party endorsement slates. This is not an all-inclusive list as it seems that our goal to dilute the marketplace by increasing the number of endorsement slates has been achieved and then some.

We have included a legend at the end of the list which includes which of these slates accept money from candidates, if the endorsements are chosen by a group of individuals or a single individual and if they are “for-profit” or simply trying to get their choices elected.

Click here to view a printable PDF. In the gallery below, there is an arrow at the top right hand side to expand the pictures to a larger size.

A few quick thoughts on these slates.

I like the path that the United Republicans of Harris County chose to take now that they are accepting money from candidates. I have long advocated that all of these slates should issue their endorsements before accepting money from candidates. It makes the process much more transparent and eliminates the perception, true or untrue, that certain slates endorse the highest bidder.

It always makes me shake my head when I see candidates purchasing ads in slates that do not endorse them. It’s the equivalent of shooting yourself in the foot. I mean, seriously, do these candidates really believe that a voter who is going to tear off a pre-marked ballot and take it into the booth is going to take the time to scratch out the slate’s choice and write in their own? If they do, perhaps the slate maker made the correct choice in the first place. Goodness, paying someone to tell a voter to vote for your opponent? That’s messed up.

I about fell out of my chair when I saw that Judge Sylvia Matthews had bought an ad in the little fella’s Link Letter. You remember Judge Matthews, right? She filed a complaint to keep Paul Coselli off the ballot and Chairman Simpson agreed. For that, Simpson was slammed by his opponent’s supporters, claiming that Simpson was biased and that is why Chris Carmona should be elected. Coselli eventually lost his fight to be on the ballot (it might still be on appeal but he is not on the ballot) and Matthews is going to be nominated. Her thanks to Simpson? Paying the little fella to attack Simpson and get people to vote for Carmona. With friends like this…..

Hey, at least the little fella let us know for certain why he and Hotze were supporting the opponents of Judge Jay Karahan and Justice of the Peace Jeff Williams. From the Link Letter’s tear off ballot:

We’ve all known the little fella doesn’t like da gayz for a long time, so this isn’t a surprise. Of course, his quip about Williams isn’t exactly the whole truth and nothing but the truth but we’re talking little fella here, so again, no surprise. I’m happy that he confirmed what everyone was saying as to why he and a couple of other slates were trying to oust those two incumbents who are following the law of the land. And making people happy too! Isn’t that a conservative value? I mean, it ain’t like they were marrying the little fella off!

I wish that he had said something about why they are trying to get rid of Judge Theresa Chang because that one is flabbergasting. Oh well.

Interestingly, as I was writing this post, I received an email about the little fella and truth in advertising:

Commenting regarding the unAmerican comments of Mr Terry Lowry in his “LinkLetter” regarding a true American Hero, retired Navy SEAL Dan Crenshaw. I will not dignify said comments with repeating them except that Mr Lowry said NOTHING of Dan’s service, sacrifice, or injuries. as part of TRASH THE SLATES I would like to see you show said comments as well as his comments on other candidates and GLOWING words about the SLATE candidate, Kevin Roberts. As an American, wife of precinct chair xxx xxxxxx in precinct xx, and an election judge, I will NOT stand by to see this Congressional seat taken by those who SELL endorsements for money and then BESMIRCH an American hero. You can also call me at xxx xxx xxxx. I am not paid by anyone. I am just a grassroots activist who wants to DRAIN THIS SWAMP!!!

Well, I wasn’t going to show the little fella’s attack on Mr. Crenshaw but I aim to please:

This is what the wife of the precinct chair is referring to when she mentions Mr. Crenshaw’s military service:

On Dan’s third deployment in 2012, his life changed forever. After six months of combat operations, Dan was hit by an IED blast during a mission in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was evacuated and awoke from his medically induced coma learning that his right eye had been destroyed in the blast and his left eye was still present, but badly damaged. Dan was completely blind and the doctors did not believe he would ever see again. Tara stood by him every day and night, keeping faith and praying he would see again. After several difficult surgeries, he eventually regained sight in his left eye, a miracle according to the head surgeon. Dan refused to quit and went on to deploy twice more, first back to the Middle East in 2014 and then South Korea in 2016.

Dan was medically retired in September of 2016, after ten years in the SEAL Teams. He left service with two Bronze Stars (one with Valor), the Purple Heart, and the Navy Commendation Medal with Valor, among many other recognitions. Soon after, Dan completed his Master in Public Administration at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. In September of this year, he was back in Houston, volunteering for days on end in areas of Katy devastated by Hurricane Harvey. He saw first-hand the unthinkable losses that his neighbors suffered, but he also saw Texan grit and resilience. He wanted to do more, and this November Dan and Tara decided that the best way to serve the people of Texas would be in elected office.

Dan is now running for the U.S. House of Representatives in Texas’ 2nd district, where Dan grew up and where his family lives now. He believes in service before self, and understands that there is no higher calling than service to the American people. His wife Tara is no stranger to service either: she comes from a career Navy family, and is an active fundraiser for families of fallen service members and suicide prevention.

Dan is a staunch Republican and knows the importance of carrying the conservative movement through to the next generation. Dan can no longer fight on the battlefield, but he can bring the integrity, leadership, vision, and tenacity learned in the SEAL teams to fight in Congress for common sense policies that ensure our nation’s prosperity and security, represent our Judeo-Christian values, and again give Texans a reason to be proud of their leaders.

What Mr. Crenshaw didn’t realize when he met little fella for breakfast is that Roberts is a freind of little fella’s and little fella was fishing for information he could use against him if necessary. Which he did because Crenshaw is running a strong campaign. The fact that Crenshaw doesn’t have a job because he (a) is medically retired, (b) moved back here to help after Harvey and (c) then decided to run for office escaped the little fella’s notes. Little fella deserves a noogie for that.

A caveat to the matrx above is that I do not have a hard copy of Polland’s endorsements yet and got the list from his website, which says it is incomplete. You don’t think he removed my name from his mailing list do you?

As far as the finances go, we’ll wait until the 8 day out reports are in to write about that. A cursory examination shows that we are probably approaching three-quarter million in Harris County Republican slate mailers.  Nothing on Polland, maybe he is footing the bill this year? There’s your laugh of the day! Enjoy.

UPDATED 2/21/2018:

We added two more slates to the tracker, bringing the total to 12.