Why you don’t see any recommendations for the Texas Senate

Every election cycle, our newsroom must make decisions about races where we will recommend to our readers and races where we will not.

Part of this is a question of time and resources.

Each cycle, we attempt to select as many races for review as we can in the limited time we have between the candidate filing deadline and the days immediately before early voting.

When deciding which constituencies to make a recommendation in, a lot of it is about deciding whether we can add valuable insights and whether those insights are meaningful to voters.

Some readers have asked us about the lack of recommendations for Senate races in Texas.

This year we made endorsements in 39 contested local races, but chose not to make endorsements 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 believe, and we agree, that impact alone is not a sufficient reason to avoid studying a breed. And there are times when, in races, we recommend for or against candidates who have an overwhelming advantage based on a district’s voter makeup.

In the case of the Texas Senate, we stand by our conclusion from the last election that every senator who voted to acquit Attorney General Ken Paxton in his impeachment trial chose politics over principles in a way that is dangerous to the state.

Republicans in the House of Representatives and two Republicans in the Senate recognized, as we did, that the evidence that Paxton had corrupted his office was presented beyond a reasonable doubt. Many of these House Republicans faced major challenges with Paxton’s support and lost their seats. Sen. Kelly Hancock, a principled Republican from North Richland Hills who voted to convict Paxton, decided to abandon the issue.

We urge voters to particularly examine Senators’ voting records and positions on this issue, as this is a strong example of whether they are willing to put the plain facts and truth ahead of their own political interests. If not, that says something profound.

This season, we realized that our time would be better spent helping readers identify judicial nominees, particularly for the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, a key intermediate court that hears both criminal and civil cases Dallas is negotiating. Many excellent policy candidates from both parties are running there.

Races like these give us confidence in our political system, which unfortunately is not reflected in the current Texas Senate races.

Related:All our recommendations for the 2024 general election

Related:Our Recommendations for Dallas Charter Changes

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