Local Control Born Again as Issue
for GOP with SD 11 Hopeful Plugs

Capitol Inside
January 19, 2022

An uprising by local leaders against Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick and the far right that he controls in Texas appeared to be under way on Wednesday when Galveston Republican Bob Mitchell scored endorsements from eight mayors for an open Senate race.

Patrick's handpicked candidate - State Rep. Mayes Middleton of Galveston - sought to solidify his position as the early favorite this week when he contributed $1.65 million to his campaign for the seat that GOP State Senator Larry Taylor of Friendswood is giving up in 2022.

A second term House member, Middleton prompted Taylor to pull the plug on a re-election campaign with a vow to spend millions of dollars in a bid for Senate District 11 or whatever it would take to win the contest that he entered right before the filing deadline for the primaries in December.

The marquee race on the Texas legislative battlefield in the primary this year, the fight for SD 11 appears destined to a runoff in a field of four Republicans that includes Robin Armstrong and Bianca Gracia.

Armstrong reported contributions of nearly $91,789 last month as an eleventh-hour entrant in the coastal Senate district as well. Armstrong beefed up his war chest with more than $34,000 personal loans to his campaign late last month.

Armstrong has a shot at overtime as a physician who's a longtime party activist who served as a vice-chairman of the Texas GOP and has remained a force since that time. A substantial amount of Armstrong donations came from fellow medical doctors including Houston's Stella Immanuel - an unofficial advisor to Donald Trump on the COVID-19 pandemic.

Armstrong was one of the first medical professionals in Texas to treat patients with covid with a controversial drug that Trump was promoting when he was still the president. Immanuel has appeared to be on the same page with Trump's initial diagnosis of the contagion as the hoax.

Patrick pulled his support for Taylor at the last minute in an apparent attempt to clear the path to the Legislature's upper chamber for Middleton. But Middleton's personal wealth failed to scare off Mitchell, Armstrong or Gracia, who served as the leader of Latinas for Trump in 2020.

But Mitchell might have the best shot at a spot in overtime in SD 11 this spring if the Republicans who are running to his right split the hardline conservative vote in round one. Mitchell sounded like a GOP candidate from the past when he listed local control along with limited government, border security and "the sanctity of life" as his top priorities in an email announcing his support from mayors in SD 11.

Patrick has led a crusade to weaken local governments in a way that expands the power of the state. Middleton has been a chief warrior in the Patrick push - having sponsored legislation that would ban cities, counties and other public entites from hiring lobbyists to represent them at the statehouse in Austin. The so-called taxpayer funded lobbying prohibition was one of the few Patrick conservative priorities that failed in regular and special session in 2021.

Mitchell won endorsements today from Mayors Michel Bechtel of Morgan's Point, Shawn Findley of El Lago, Mike Foreman of Friendswood, Pat Hallisey of League City, Carl Joiner of Kemah, Jon Keeney of Taylor Lake Village, Kurt Otten of Clear Lake Shores and Louis Rigby of La Porte. Houston Mayor Pro-Tem Dave Martin pitched his support to Mitchell's campaign today as well.

“Out of the diverse field of four candidates who are running for the District 11 senate seat, Bob Mitchell is, by far, the most qualified,” Foreman said. “He has over 20 years of economic development leadership in the district where he has lived his entire life and knows very well. The companies, jobs, and educational opportunities that he has helped bring to District 11 have improved all of our lives. Voting for Bob is voting for the continued economic growth of District 11.” 

Middleton was based in the Chambers County hamlet of Wallisville during two terms in the west wing of the Capitol. But Middleton had the luxury of relocating to a home that he owns on Galveston Island to qualify as a resident of the Senate district he wants to represent. Armstrong and Gracia are residents of Dickinson and Pasadena respectively.

more to come ...