Texas Political Update December 2, 2021

Posted December 2, 2021

McConaughey Not Running for Governor
On Sunday, actor Matthew McConaughey removed himself from consideration as a candidate for governor after months of toying with a campaign. McConaughey released a video recording with the announcement, which came about two weeks before the candidate filing deadline on December 13th. Since earlier this year, McConaughey said he was mulling a run for governor, though he did not specify whether he would run in the Democratic primary, in the Republican primary or as an independent. He has previously described himself as “aggressively centrist.”
Updated Lawmaker Retirement Announcements, or Running for Another Office
Texas House:
– Rep. Chris Paddie (R, Marshall, HD 9) retiring
– Rep. Ben Leman (R, Anderson, HD 13) retiring
– Rep. John Cyrier (R, Lockhart, HD 17) retiring
– Rep. James White (R, Hillister, HD 19) running for TX Agriculture Commissioner
– Rep. Joe Deshotel (D, Beaumont, HD 22) retiring- Rep. Mayes Middleton (R, Wallisville, HD 23) running for Texas Senate SD 11
– Rep. Alex Dominguez (D, Brownsville, HD 37) running for Texas Senate SD 27
– Rep. Eddie Lucio, III (D, Brownsville, HD 38) retiring
– Rep. Celia Israel (D, Austin, HD 50) retiring, considering run for Austin Mayor
– Rep. Eddie Rodriguez (D, Austin, HD 51) running for U.S. Congress CD 35
– Rep. Phil King (R, Weatherford, HD 61) running for Texas Senate SD 10
– Rep. Tan Parker (R, Flower Mound, HD 63) running for Texas Senate SD 12
– Rep. Michelle Beckley (D, Carrollton, HD 65) retiring, running for TX Lt. Governor
– Rep. Scott Sanford (R, McKinney, HD 70) retiring
– Rep. Kyle Biedermann (R, Fredericksbug, HD 73) retiring
– Rep. John Frullo (R, Lubbock, HD 84) retiring
– Rep. Matt Krause (R, Ft. Worth, HD 93) running for Tarrant County DA- Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D, Dallas, HD 100) running for U.S. Congress CD 30
– Rep. John Turner (D, Dallas, HD 114) retiring
– Rep. Lyle Larson (R, San Antonio, HD 122) retiring
– Rep. Ina Minjarez (D, San Antonio, HD 124) running for Bexar County Judge
– Rep. Dan Huberty (R, Houston, HD 127) retiring
– Rep. Jim Murphy (R, Houston, HD 133) retiring
– Rep. Garnet Coleman (D, Houston, HD 147) retiring
Texas Senate:
– Sen. Larry Taylor (R, Friendswood, SD 11) retiring- Sen. Jane Nelson (R, Flower Mound, SD 12) retiring
– Sen. John Whitmire (D, Houston, SD 15) will run for re-election in 2022, then run for Houston Mayor in 2023
– Sen. Dawn Buckingham (R, Lakeway, SD 24) running for TX Land Commissioner
– Sen. Eddie Lucio, Jr. (D, Brownsville, SD 27) retiring
– Sen. Kel Seliger (R, Amarillo, SD 31) retiring
Cong. Gohmert in for AG; Rep. Krause out
Congressman Louie Gohmert (R-Tyler) has officially announced his campaign for the Republican nomination for Attorney General in the already crowded GOP primary. As Gohmert entered, State Rep. Matt Krause suspended his AG campaign and announced a run for the open Tarrant County District Attorney seat.
As always, call with questions, – Mike & Shannon

Shannon Meroney

Shannon Meroney brings ten years experience as a multi-state lobbyist based primarily at the Texas Capitol and ten years of courtroom legal expertise to her dynamic government affairs consulting practice. Prior to creating Meroney Public Affairs LLC, Shannon spent six years as a Senior Government Relations Manager for Aetna, a Fortune 100 health insurance corporation with multi-state responsibility. Previous to that, she was a Partner at the Texas law firm Thompson, Coe, Cousins & Irons representing multiple corporate clients and large trade associations at the Capitol, in the courtroom and providing legal drafting and analysis expertise.