AUSTIN — Seeking a second term in the Texas House, Rep. Frederick Frazier says he has amassed a record of conservative accomplishments that includes coauthoring Republican priority bills to cut property taxes, ban gender-affirming care for minors and give the state a role in arresting and deporting migrants.
Keresa Richardson, his opponent in the May 28 GOP primary runoff, disputes Frazier’s conservative credentials and says the McKinney Republican lacks integrity after pleading no contest to two election-related misdemeanors late last year.
The hotly contested runoff was set up when Richardson received 40% of the vote in the March 5 Republican primary to Frazier’s 32%.
Early voting for the May 28 runoff ends Friday. The winner will face Democrat Tony Adams in November in a solidly Republican Collin County district that includes parts of McKinney and Frisco.
Richardson, backed by some of the most conservative Republicans in the Texas House, has attacked Frazier — who has been endorsed by Gov. Greg Abbott — for several votes taken during the 2023 legislative session, particularly his vote to impeach Attorney General Ken Paxton.
“I decided that someone needed to replace him,” Frazier said in a brief phone interview. “The Texas House is dysfunctional, and things are not getting done.”
Paxton, who has campaigned against House Republicans who supported his impeachment, has endorsed Richardson.
Frazier said he doesn’t regret the Paxton vote, calling it a difficult choice that was his constitutional duty.
“It was part of our duty to look at what we had and then look at nothing from the other side and then send it to the Senate,” Frazier said.
Richardson disagrees. In an email, she said she saw “NO viable evidence” offered by the Texas House.
Richardson and her supporters also criticize Frazier for pleading no contest to two misdemeanor charges of attempting to impersonate a public servant.
A Collin County grand jury indicted Frazier in June 2022, accusing him of impersonating a McKinney city code enforcement employee on two occasions to instruct people to remove campaign signs. His GOP runoff opponent at the time, Paul Chabot, said his campaign signs had been targeted.
Frazier was given one year of deferred adjudication probation and fined $8,000.
Based on his plea, Frazier was initially dishonorably discharged from the Dallas Police Department, where he was a police officer for about 28 years.
Frazier is pushing back on criticism, saying a Collin County judge dismissed the misdemeanors last month and discharged him from probation. With his charges dismissed, the Dallas Police Department changed his dishonorable discharge to a general discharge.
After the court ruling, Frazier said he is focused on correcting Richardson’s “smear campaign” by connecting with voters in a vigorous round of door knocking and block walking in House District 61
On issues, Frazier and Richardson promote similar conservative priorities for the next legislative session, including additional property tax cuts. Both say Gov. Greg Abbott’s Operation Lone Star has been effective at combating illegal immigration.
“We’ve done a good job there, and we need to continue monitoring [the border] until we have a change in the White House,” Frazier said.
Richardson said she believes Democrats have an “outsized influence” in the House under Speaker Dade Phelan, whom she blamed for allowing Democrats to water down GOP priority bills.
Richardson and Frazier support banning Democrats from leading legislative committees.
The two candidates also support Abbott’s plan to eliminate the portion of property taxes devoted to school maintenance and operations.
Richardson wants to offset lost tax revenue by adding a consumption tax on the purchase of a good or service. She opposes raising sales taxes.
“There are many options we need to research,” Richardson said. “The entire property tax structure needs an overhaul, and it will be a long arduous process, but we must spread out the tax burden so our senior citizens are not at risk of losing their homes when they cannot pay their property taxes.”
Frazier has had a fundraising advantage with $818,576 in campaign contributions to Richardson’s $263,679 before the May primary. Frazier has also spent $353,362 in TV advertising, according to AdImpact, which tracks ad spending, while Richardson has not spent money on TV ads.
