The 2014 elections for Texas are considered to be the most important in recent times.  Obama’s Organizing For America group and the George Soros’s funded Battleground Texas have made it their number-one goal to “turn Texas blue.”  They want to make our conservative state more liberal or at a minimum, more moderate.  Their goal is to take away Texas’ strong conservative values and keep it from being a contender in the national elections and state elections.  Nothing is more important on this issue than keeping Texas “red”.

This fight will be tested in our own local race for Texas House District 60.  State Rep. Jim Keffer, the 18-year incumbent to the office, is considered moderate at best by most major newspapers in the state.  Even the non-partisan Texas Values Action group, which provides a voter guide online and by mail, classifies him as a moderate.  It appears that the only sites that classify Rep. Keffer as a conservative are the sites he has control over.  It is because of the big government, big spending tactics of the increasingly more liberal Texas House of Representative’s that I am considering other alternatives.

Cullen Crisp, a true conservative, has entered the race and is a man that I believe needs your consideration.  I have met Mr. Crisp four times.  He is married, a father of two and a committed Christian.  He is a fifth-generation Texan, small business owner, family-farm operator and he lives in Granbury.  When I asked him why he wants to run for this office, Mr. Crisp said that he’s concerned about the future of Texas with the out of control spending that continues to come from Austin.

Much has been made of the endorsements by the NRA and the Texas Farm Bureau for Rep. Keffer.  I contacted both of these organizations to inquire about their endorsements.  The Texas Farm Bureau said, “[Cullen Crisp] may be very good for this district.”  So did Texas Farm Bureau spend the time to research all candidates, or did they just opt to support the incumbent?  The NRA said they based their endorsement on his voter score, and the fact that he is the incumbent.  However, Cullen Crisp also has a perfect AQ NRA score, and is a Licensed Federal Firearms Dealer, who is deeply committed to standing and fighting for our Second Amendment rights.

Cullen Crisp is a grassroots candidate and is endorsed by conservative organizations and individuals such as Texans for Fiscal Responsibility and Cathie Adams, former Chairman of the Republican Party of Texas and president of Texas Eagle Forum.  Both are also supporters of conservative Greg Abbott for Texas Governor and other fiscally conservative candidates.  Texans for Fiscal Responsibility and Cathie Adams are supporters of our own Senator Ted Cruz.  These people are among the many strong supporters of limited government candidates like Cullen Crisp for Texas House District 60.

State Rep. Jim Keffer says that he gets things done for rural Texas.  But, according to the Young Conservatives of Texas, he has a voting record that is conservative less than 49 percent of the time.  Other conservative score card groups label him as more liberal than Wendy Davis.  Maybe I’ve forgotten, but in school, 49 percent was a failing grade.  The Texas Right to Life group lists Rep. Keffer as 59th out of the 94 total voting Republican Representatives on pro-life issues in the 2013 Texas House.  It’s time we re-evaluate what our elected officials are doing with our tax dollars.  I want a representative that is fiscally responsible and will fight to keep Texas the reddest states on the map and not just make empty promises to get things done.

Early voting is now until February 28th and the Republican Primary is March 4th.  Please join me in voting for Cullen Crisp to be our next Representative for HD 60 and restore conservative values to our district.

I am not a paid political advocate or a current or former political office holder.  I am just a concerned wife, mother, grandmother, CPA that is worried about the future of our Texas.

-Julia Taylor, Brownwood