We recommend in the race for Texas’ 26th Congressional District

Voters in the 26th Congressional District will have two strikingly different primary candidates to choose from this November.

On one side is Brandon Gill, the 30-year-old far-right Republican from Flower Mound who made a name for himself as a lifelong supporter of former President Donald Trump.

On the other side is retired Marine officer Ernest R. Lineberger III, a balanced engineer from Carrollton who is running for Democrats in this Republican district to give voters a second choice.

We recommend Lineberger, 66, for his proven commitment to serving his country, his promise of bipartisanship and his determination to do his homework before casting a vote.

We have no doubt that Lineberger would be a quick study. He holds a Bachelor of Science in aerospace engineering from the University of Southern California and two master’s degrees in engineering acoustics and anti-submarine warfare systems engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School. Lineberger served in the Navy from 1980 to 1995 and has worked at Texas Instruments since 1996.

Lineberger told us he supports many of the typical Democratic platforms — such as improved voting rights, climate change initiatives and more support for teachers and the working class. What worries him most, however, is extreme right-wing politics.

In his district, which includes nearly 800,000 residents throughout Cooke and parts of Denton and Wise counties, Democrats rarely field candidates for congressional races, he told us. But instead of complaining on the sidelines, he said, he decided to run to give voters a balancing choice, even if he faces an uphill battle.

“I’ve done a lot of difficult things in my life,” Lineberger said. “It’s time to get back to something.”

Still, Lineberger said that while he strongly disagrees with the far right on many issues, including immigration reform and aid to Ukraine, he would go to Washington, D.C., willing to work with anyone.

We don’t believe that about Gill, who refused to engage with us in our recommendation process. Gill, who was vying for the seat vacated by longtime U.S. Rep. Michael Burgess, beat a field of 10 opponents in the March primary. We did not recommend him for this race and called him an arsonist who spreads conspiracy theories.

Gill founded the DC Enquirer, an ultra-conservative news site, and collaborated with his father-in-law Dinesh D’Souza on the film 2000 mules It made allegations of widespread voter fraud in 2020. To date, no such allegations have been made in court. Sowing doubt about our democracy with discredited claims of voter fraud is un-American.

District 26 voters should reject such extremism and elect Lineberger. Libertarian candidate Phil Gray is also on the ballot.

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