CORRECTION, 11:25 A.M. Oct. 24, 2024: An earlier version of this editorial inaccurately said that Sen. Kelly Hancock, R-Richland Hills, had decided not to run for reelection after voting to convict Attorney General Ken Paxton. Hancock has been clear that he does intend to run for reelection in two years when his current term is up.
Each election cycle, our editorial board has to make decisions about races where we will make recommendations to our readers and races where we won’t.
Part of this is a question of time and resources.
Each cycle we try to select as many races to review as we can in the limited time we have between the deadline for candidate filing and the days just before early voting.
A lot goes into deciding which races we will make a recommendation in, and part of that calculus is determining whether we can add some insight of value and whether that insight will matter to voters.
We’ve had a few readers ask about a lack of recommendations in Texas Senate races.
This year, we made recommendations in 39 contested local races, but chose not to offer recommendations for the Texas Senate.
Part of the decision was based on impact. Texas Senate districts are now so gerrymandered that a recommendation one way or the other is unlikely to have much impact.
Some readers feel, and we agree, that impact alone isn’t reason enough to avoid examining a race. And there are times when we recommend in races for or against candidates who have an overwhelming advantage due to the electoral make-up of a district.
In the case of the Texas Senate, we stand by our conclusion in the last election that any senator who voted to acquit Attorney General Ken Paxton in his impeachment trial put politics above principle in ways that are dangerous to the state.
Republicans in the state House, and two Republicans in the Senate, recognized, as we did, that the evidence Paxton corrupted his office was presented beyond a reasonable doubt. Many of those Republicans in the House faced primary challenges, backed by Paxton, and lost their seats.
We urge voters to examine senators’ voting record and positions on this matter in particular, because it stands as a strong example of whether they are willing to put the plain facts and truth above their own political interests. If they aren’t, that says something profound.
This season, we determined that our time was better spent trying to help readers sort through judicial candidates, especially for the 5th Court of Appeals, a critical intermediate court that hears both criminal and civil cases in the Dallas area. Many excellent candidates of principle, from both parties, stand for office there.
Races like that give us confidence in our political system that we are sorry to say isn’t reflected in the current races for Texas Senate.
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