Texas Railroad Commission a weak staging ground for higher office....

"The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you."
Philippians 4:9

As the early positioning for Election 2018 begins, it's worth examining what happened to the last two Texas Railroad Commission chairs who attempted to "move up."

In 2014, then Railroad Commission chairman Barry Smitherman ran for the open Attorney General seat; he didn't make it out of the first round:

Republican primary

[hide]Texas Attorney General Republican Primary, 2014
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Ken Paxton	44.5%	569,034
Dan Branch	33.4%	428,034
Barry Smitherman	22.1%	282,701
Total Votes		1,279,769

In 2012, then-Chairman Michael Williams attempted to run for a newly created Congressional seat [Full disclosure: At the time, we lived in the relevant district and voted for Williams.]; likewise, he failed to make the runoff:

2012 Republican Party Primary Election

Roger Williams	25.10%
Wes Riddle	14.56%
Justin Hewlett	12.03%
David "Dave" Garrison	11.99%
Michael Williams	10.49%
Dianne Costa	9.36%
Brian Matthews	3.54%
Charles Holcomb	3.28%
Chad Wilbanks	3.10%
Bill Burch	3.06%
James Dillon	2.28%
Ernie Beltz Jr.	1.16%

Also in 2012, Elizabeth Ames Jones proved unable to leverage a seat on the Railroad commission even into a Texas Senate race:

2012 Republican Party Primary Election

Jeff Wentworth	35.77%
Donna Campbell	33.68%
Elizabeth Ames Jones	30.53%

Over the past 20 years, Carole Keaton Strayhorn's 1998 Comptroller campaign is the only example of a member of the Railroad commission successfully running for another position (and we suspect Glenn Hegar will be fine).

Bottom Line: The phrase "don't quit your day job" comes to mind.

"We need you to Endorse Bryan Hughes" -- An Open Letter to David Barton

Dear Sir,

We've never met, although we have many mutual friends.  I'm a big fan.  This letter, however, is about business.

Texas Conservatives need you to endorse Bryan Hughes for Speaker in the 83rd Texas Legislature.

You might not know this, but your endorsement is one of the few that matters.  In lower profile races, your endorsement moves votes.  As one example, you endorsement was critical to my pushing the button for Michael Williams.

You know these candidates and you know the contrast.  Where current speaker Joe Straus deliberately echoes Obama, Bryan Hughes believes in prudent financial stewardship.  Joe Straus' Obama-esque crony socialist 'leadership' is an economic risk Texas cannot afford when a superior alternative exists.

Here's at Cahnman's Musings, we've endorsed Bryan Hughes.  The difference, David Barton, is that people actually care what you think.  That's why Cahnman's Musings respectfully requests your endorsement of Bryan Hughes for Texas House Speaker.

Sincerely,
Adam Cahn
Austin, TX
November 20, 2012