Several pro-life candidates backed by Texas Right to Life won their primary races

Several pro-life incumbent state legislators won their primary races, many of whom have consistently scored 100% on Texas Right to Life’s “Pro-Life Scorecard.” Two female Republican congressional candidates in the Rio Grande Valley who were endorsed by Texas Right to Life also won their primary races.

Prolife state House members running for reelection in November are Tom Oliverson (HD 130), Cody Thane Vasut (HD 25), and Matt Schaefer (HD 6). They each scored a 100% on the Pro-Life Scorecard in 2021. Oliverson and Vasut ran unopposed in the primary and face no Democratic challengers in November.

Retired Lt. Commander in the U.S. Navy Reserve and former congressman, Matt Schaefer, defeated his primary challenger, winning 88.9% of the vote. He faces Democrat Cody Grace, a small business owner.

Since 2017, Schaefer has been a member of the Texas Freedom Caucus, which aims to support “liberty-minded, grassroots Texans who want bold action to protect life, strengthen families, defend the U.S. and Texas Bills of Rights, restrain government and revitalize personal and economic freedoms in the State of Texas.”

He voted for the heartbeat abortion bill, and argues, “If a baby’s heartbeat is detected, she must be protected. I will never stop fighting for the countless babies in the womb who are lost every year to abortion.”

Cody Grace’s platform doesn’t mention abortion. His platform includes expanding health care, mental health services, and lowering the cost of health insurance. “All citizens have the right to affordable health care,” he said. He also supports legalizing and taxing marijuana.

District 6 consists of Tyler, Whitehouse, Bullard, Noonday, Emerald Bay, New Chapel Hill, and surrounding areas.

In the Texas Senate, pro-life incumbents Phil King (SD 10), Mayes Middleton (SD 11) and Tan Parker (SD 12) also won on March 1, each defeating challengers by significant majorities. They’ve also consistently scored 100% on the Pro-Life Scorecard.

Phil King, who previously served as a state representative in HD 61, is running against Democratic incumbent state Sen. Beverly Powell in November. SD 10 serves portions of Tarrant County. A practicing attorney, small business owner, and former police officer, King serves in the Texas State Guard.

“Texans in SD 10 want a state senator who will fight the unacceptable federal encroachment from Washington on our freedoms, rights, and liberties,” King said. “They want strong border security, a fighter for the unborn, a defender of Second Amendment rights, and a taxpayer advocate. That’s my record, and that’s the kind of senator I’ll be.”

Beverly Powell, who was first elected in 2019, is the past chair of the Texas Wesleyan Board and former president of Burleson Independent School District. She’s won several awards for expanding access to higher education. Her platform doesn’t mention abortion. She hopes to address rising maternal mortality rates and expanding access to quality health care, among other issues.

Former state Rep. Middleton is running unopposed in SD 11, which serves portions of Brazoria, Galveston and Harris counties.

Former state Rep. Tan Parker is running in SD 12, which serves portions of Dallas, Denton, Tarrant and Wise counties. The seat became vacant after incumbent state Sen. Jane Nelson announced she wasn’t running for an 11th term. She was the highest-ranking Republican woman in the Senate, the 10th woman ever elected to the Senate, and the first Republican woman ever appointed chair of a standing committee in Texas history.

Parker says he and his staff “honored the taxpayers” by protecting “life and liberty.” After voting for the heartbeat bill, and after Gov. Greg Abbott signed it into law, Parker said the bill was “an extraordinary accomplishment for all of us in the Texas legislature. When a heartbeat is detected, a heartbeat is protected,” he said.

His Democratic challenger, Francie Li, was born in Cambodia and grew up in Dallas. Her platform doesn’t mention abortion but says “women’s rights are human rights” and includes expanding health-care access. A paralegal, she describes herself as an activist who’s been an election judge, precinct chair, and served on the Asian American Democrats Senate Executive Committee.

In the Rio Grande Valley, two prolife Republican women, Mayra Flores (CD 34) and Monica De La Cruz (CD 15), won their congressional primary races in areas that have been historically Democratic. They hope to flip the seats citing increased cartel-related violence and crime stemming from the Biden administration’s open border policies.

“These women will be key to our Pro-Life campaign to turn the border red in November,” Texas Right to Life said. “Both are strong Pro-Life women whose messages of faith, family, and values are desperately needed in Congress and are connecting extremely well with their majority Hispanic communities. The Valley has long been a Democrat stronghold, but that is changing as more Hispanics are rejecting the Democratic Party’s radically anti-Life policies.”

Mayra Flores, a wife of a Border Patrol agent and respiratory care practitioner, serves as the Hidalgo County GOP Hispanic Outreach Chair. Her pro-life, pro-Second Amendment, and pro-law enforcement platform also prioritizes border security and legal immigration – a path she and her family followed. Her platform includes lowering the costs of health care and lowering taxes, among other issues.

“I will always fight for the unborn and advocate for pro-life policies in Washington,” she said.

Flores is facing incumbent Democratic Congressman Vincente Gonzalez, Jr. While his platform doesn’t mention abortion, he said he will increase funding for critical health care and family planning services for women, support equal pay for equal work, paid maternity leave, expand Medicaid and strengthen the Affordable Care Act.

Monica De La Cruz, who’s been endorsed by former President Donald Trump, is running on a strong border security platform. She’s also running on a pro-life platform in a district that she said stands for the pro-life movement. She told the Texas Horn, “I’m a pro-life candidate, and I’m unapologetic about it. This area in District 15 has a solid Catholic base. We have a Basilica in this district, as you know, in San Juan. So, this is a solid pro-life district. In fact, in the 2020 election, Edinburg became a sanctuary for the unborn. So, I’m unapologetic about my beliefs. I’m unapologetic about supporting the pro-life movement. I believe that our district stands for the pro-life movement.”

De La Cruz will face whoever the winner of May 24 Democratic runoff election is: Ruben Ramirez or Michelle Vallejo. Vallejo is an advocate of making “abortion legal, affordable and accessible.”

This article was originally posted on Several pro-life candidates backed by Texas Right to Life won their primary races