The Central Texas Republican Assembly Endorses Republican Primary Candidates

Austin, Texas — Tuesday night the Central Texas Republican Assembly (CTRA) endorsed several candidates running in the Republican Primary. The CTRA endorses candidates only in contested Republican Primary races for districts solely within or covering portions of Travis, Bastrop and Hays Counties.

The CTRA is one of six chartered chapters of the Texas Republican Assembly (TXRA), which itself is affiliated with the National Federation of Republican Assemblies (NFRA). Cast in the mold of President Ronald Reagan, the Assemblies aspire to remain the 'Republican Wing of the Republican Party', meaning they consider themselves to be fiscal and social conservatives and they seek to endorse candidates who they consider are fiscal and social conservatives.

Regarding the endorsement process, CTRA President Timothy Bradberry said, “Many candidates seek our endorsement. To get that endorsement they present themselves to the membership at forums, undergo scrutiny by an endorsement committee and ultimately must garner the votes of two-thirds of the members at an endorsement meeting.”

Bradberry also said, “In the Primary we identify and support conservatives. We wholeheartedly back the candidates we endorse. In the General Election we support the Republicans, meaning that the CTRA will respect the will of the Republicans who vote in the Primary even if our endorsed candidates do not win the primary. After all, we are Republicans.”

The CTRA endorsements for the 2010 Primary are as follows (“I” indicates Incumbent):

• Patrick McGuinness for Texas House of Representatives, District 50
• Ken Mercer for Texas State Board of Education, District 5
• Michael T. McCaul (I) for U.S. House of Representatives, District 10
• Lamar Smith (I) for U.S. House of Representatives, District 21
• Donna Campbell for U.S. House of Representatives, District 25

In addition to making the CTRA endorsements listed above a delegation of the CTRA caucused with a delegation of the Williamson County Republican Assembly (WilcoRA) in Ft. Worth at the Texas Republican Assembly Endorsement Convention on February 6th and made the following joint endorsement:

• Brian Russell for State Board of Education, District 10

The Central Texas Republican Assembly (CTRA) is a Charter member of the Texas Republican Assembly, which is affiliated with the National Federation of Republican Assemblies, “the Republican Wing of the Republican Party.”

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CTRA calls for opposition to Senate healthcare bill

The Central Texas Republican Assembly
November 22, 2009

For Immediate Release
Contact Tim Bradberry
512-507-2823
dadofping@sbcglobal.net

(Travis County, Texas) – Saturday night, the United States Senate voted 60-39 to keep its ill-conceived and largely unpopular health care bill alive in the face of growing opposition by voters around the country, especially voters in states like Arkansas who oppose the bill 64% to 28% (Zobgy). Arkansas Senator Blanche Lincoln (D) defied the wishes of the 64% of her fellow Arkansans who oppose the bill and voted with Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) and the other 56 Democrats and 2 “Independents”, including Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) who has promised to filibuster the bill if the public option is not stripped out of it.

In the early afternoon, long before the 8pm (EST) vote, Matt Drudge tweeted Louisiana Purchase: $300 million for [Sen. Mary Landrieu’s] vote, a reference to what Sen. Landrieu herself boasts is not $100 million but $300 million in promised cost reductions of the bill’s higher Medicaid liability for her state, costs that one can assumed will be redistributed to the other 49 states, like so much gas tax receipts, enough to buy her vote. BayouBuss.com reported “Senator Landrieu is a major swing vote and her vote appears to be necessary for the current Senate legislation to pass.” Since the required 60 votes in favor of starting debate was exactly met, each one of the affirmative votes was a deciding vote.

Senator Robert Byrd (D-WV) was wheeled out to his place on the floor of the Senate just long enough to have his vote cast, no less a deciding vote than that of Sen. Landrieu. Madeline Crabb calls the continued service of Senator Byrd a “great reason for term limits” — see http://www.renewamerica.com/columns/crabb/091122.

The Central Texas Republican Assembly is opposed to the health care bill being debated in the Senate and calls upon all Americans to join hands, voices, and forces to oppose it and to make the next deciding vote effect the defeat of this freedom reducing, marriage penalizing, abortion funding, health care rationing, deficit ballooning, state budget busting, fine imposing bill with the Orwellian tile, Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

The Domain: A Deal You Can Refuse

Come on now! Take a break from the Obamamania and RSVP for the the Central Texas Republican Assembly meeting on September 16, 2008 at which important information for taxpayers in Austin will be presentation by Brian Rodgers, Founder of Stop Domain Subsidies.

Click here for the details.

Bryan Daniel gets the nod for HD 52

Williamson County Republicans have chosen their candidate to face off against the Democrat, Diana Maldonado, in the House District 52 race. Bryan Daniel squeaked by in the April 8th runoff in early voting with a 3 vote lead (0.23% of the vote), but on election day stretched that lead to an almost 7% margin of victory (1656 to 1432).

Daniel attributed his win to the grassroots work of his supporters doing the basics, like knocking on doors in the final days of the campaign. Several of those supporters were members of the Central Texas Republican Assembly (CTRA) which did not endorse in the Primary or the runoff but who broke for Daniel in the runoff as evidenced by the March 18th recommendation of the CTRA Endorsement Committee to endorse Daniel (a vote of the full membership was not held due to the lack of a full quorum) and the block walking of CTRA members such as Tim Bradberry, Randy and Michele Samuelson, and Eric and Jen Stratton. Daniel received endorsements from the Texas Alliance for Life, Texas Right to Life, and The Texas Home School Coalition. He also ran a very positive radio ad.

On election night, Bryan and his wife Tamara were upbeat as the early voting results were posted and the initial election day results were phoned in. Then as the prospects of certain precincts (which were thought to be in the Hobbs camp) coming in with higher turnout than had previously been figured weighed on them, their demeanors became rather stoic. They looked every bit a team, even in the manner that they took the news that the race might be extremely close and Bryan might lose. Their faces mirrored one another. Then when they got the news that Bryan had indeed won by a good margin they stayed reserved and yet they were clearly excited. On the other hand, the small gathering of supported were quite elated by the news.

When asked about the prospects of beating the Democratic, Diana Maldonado, in the General Election, Daniel said, "It's going to take all of us, working together." He mentioned again the importance of groups like the CTRA. When asked about what he thought about the plans for the CTRA to help start a Williamson County Republican Assembly (WCRA) he expressed his enthusiatic support.

Daniel is currently the Vice President for Business Development and a member of the Board of Directors for Agricultural Workers Mutual Auto Insurance. Prior to this position, he served as the Texas State Director of Rural Development for the United States Department of Agriculture. As State Director, Daniel led USDA’s economic development efforts in Texas.

After twenty-two years as an award-winning government efficiency expert at the Texas Comptroller’s Office and as the President of the Round Rock ISD school board, Maldonado (says she) understands how to balance priorities, find common ground and get the people’s business.

Daniel was the most conservative candidate in the Primary Runoff, and without doubt he is by far the most conservative candidate in the General Election. We need to get behind him and come together to keep HD 52 in conservative Republican hands.