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    • Feb 19
    • 6 min read

TX House D60. Elections 2024, 05 March Political Party Primaries, Willow Park

Updated: Mar 4


• Current: Updated daily.

• Summary: Information on the 05 March 2024 Political Party Primaries for TX House D60 including Willow Park.

• Blog Index: Election Calendar, Voter Registration, Voter Card, Sample Ballots (Democrat, Republican), Early Voting, Election Day Voting, General Articles, General Resources

Latest Update: updated 04 March 2024; posted 19 February, 2024

Select #Tags for additional articles: #Elections2020 #Civics



 

Elections 2024, 05 March Political Party Primaries, Willow Park

Texas State House, District 60

• Includes Stephens, Palo Pinto and Parker counties

• Voter Registration Card STREP60



• Index: Current, Democratic Candidates, Republican Candidates; Articles and Research

Candidates Democrat

• Democrat Candidates: None


Candidates Republican

• Glenn Rodger (Incumbent) / Candidate Website

• Mike Olcott / Candidate Website



Articles and Research


• "Last week Terry and I cast our votes for Mike Olcott for House District 60. I need Mike's help in the Texas Legislature! I know Mike will work with me to secure our border and defend Texas against the Biden Administration's leftist agenda." Sen. Phil King, email from Mike Olcott Campaign, 04 March 2024


The two District 60 candidates’ positions on the governor’s proposed voucher program is one of the major differences between them, with Olcott supporting it and Rogers opposing it. To help readers understand their positions, we have included an op-ed from each candidate’s campaign about their stand on the voucher program.


As promised, the governor is going after members of his own party after some of them tanked his top legislative priority.

The School Freedom Fund is an arm of the Club for the Growth, the national anti-tax group, and its new TV ad buy spans broadcast, cable and satellite across the eight districts. The buy targets Reps. Gary VanDeaver of New Boston, Travis Clardy of Nacogdoches, Ernest Bailes of Shepherd, Hugh Shine of Temple, DeWayne Burns of Cleburne, Glenn Rogers of Graford, Reggie Smith of Sherman and Steve Allison of San Antonio.

November, are increasingly speaking out against the attacks. Rogers said in a direct-to-camera video released Tuesday that he would not cow to the “out-of-state voucher lobby, which is pumping millions of dollars into Texas to kill public education.”

“I have something important to tell you: I can’t be bought, I can’t be bullied and I can’t be intimidated,” Rogers told voters. “I will only be your representative.”


• Abbott Regrets Endorsement, Legislators Get Cease & Desist Letters, House Floor Closed for 2024, The Texan, 02 February, 2024

At a packed rally in Mineral Wells on Thursday, Abbott issued a mea culpa of sorts for his 2022 endorsement of state Rep. Glenn Rogers (R-Graford) against challenger Mike Olcott.

Now the tables are turned. Olcott is back challenging Rogers, this time with the governor’s support.

“There are many reasons we are here today, and one of those is that I made a mistake last time in endorsing Glenn Rogers. And I’m here to correct that mistake. I’m here to make sure everyone knows, I’m here to support Mike Olcott to be your state representative,” Abbott told the crowd, stating Olcott will join him as a “strong conservative” in the Legislature on any number of issues, but especially on school choice.


• Will Democrats Vote in the Republican Primary?, Texas Scorecard, 31 January 2024

While closing the primary has been a priority of the Texas GOP, it has not gotten traction in the state legislature.

Similar* calls have also been seen in State Rep. Glenn Rogers’ (R–Graford) district. [*State Rep. Glenn Rogers (R–Graford), who is facing a tough re-election battle, promoted a video by the principal of Breckenridge Junior High School, Laura Gibson, on his campaign facebook page. In the video, Gibson encourages viewers to vote for Rogers in the Republican primary because of his opposition to school choice.']


House Speaker Dade Phelan is sending campaign cash to house members opposed by Gov. Greg Abbott.

Newly-released campaign finance reports—which cover the second half of 2023—reveal that Phelan has directly contributed to 16 members of the Texas House.

The donations include around $15,000 each to the following state representatives: Glenn Rogers (Graford) Notably, seven of these members—Allison, Bailes, Darby, Holland, Rogers, Kuempel, and VanDeaver—opposed Abbott’s push for school choice legislation. Abbott has already endorsed opponents to Allison, Darby, and Rogers.


One state lawmaker who voted to remove school choice from a Texas House education bill last year and has habitually sided with pro-public education groups has now taken a heel turn and called for abolishing the Texas Education Agency (TEA).

Rep. Glenn Rogers (R-Graford) harkened back to how Republicans at the federal level have routinely “viewed the Department of Education in Washington D.C. as a source for liberal indoctrination of students, terrible policy ideas, ridiculous mandates, and out-of-control government spending that is both wasteful and harmful.”

“Many of those same conservatives have called for the elimination of the Department of Education,” Rogers stated. “While I agree that we should eliminate the federal DOE, I think we must look also to our own state and confront the bloated and dangerous bureaucracy that we are allowing to grow right under our noses.”

“It is time to disband the Texas Education Agency before it destroys education in this state.”



• Rogers Touts Fake Endorsements, Texas Scorecard, 08 January 2024

Embattled State Rep. Glenn Rogers (R-Graford) has been touting endorsements he did not receive.

Among the Republican officeholders purportedly throwing their support behind his campaign were U.S. Rep. Roger Williams (TX), State Sen. Drew Springer (Muenster), and State Rep. David Spiller (Jacksboro).

The problem? None of them have endorsed Rogers for re-election.

After being questioned about the fake endorsements, Rogers' campaign took them off his website without comment.


• More than 20% of Texas House members running unopposed in 2024, The Center Square, 28 December 2023


Next year’s primary is going to be heated, intense, and bloody — especially in the Texas House.

HD 60 – Tables Turned in the Rematch

State Rep. Glenn Rogers (R-Graford) avoided an upset in last year’s primary by the skin of his teeth — just 300 votes. 

This time, it won’t get any easier as his 2022 opponent, Mike Olcott, is back for a second go with a new ally, one that sided with Rogers a year ago.

Gov. Greg Abbott surprised many when he endorsed Olcott in this race, especially considering the governor’s support for Rogers in 2022 and the link between Olcott and DTL. The group ran negative ads against Rogers on Olcott’s behalf, though the self-funding Olcott did not receive any direct contributions from DTL.

Like Shine, Rogers has not backed off his opposition to school vouchers or ESAs — he was one of a handful of Republicans to speak about the issue on the floor during the debate over the education omnibus last month.

Rogers was already the target of a billboard campaign by DTL well before the scandal. And given his vulnerable position, there’s little sign of that letting up with Abbott’s war chest now in the mix for spending against his behalf.

During the 2022 runoff, Rogers lost Parker County, by far the largest population base in the district. But the margins he ran up in Palo Pinto and Stephens counties pulled him across the line just ahead of Olcott.

Rogers’ help could come from TLR, which gave him $54,000 in 2022 and could be back for another round depending on how highly they rate the HD 60 race. Additionally, the Texas Farm Bureau AGFund gave Rogers and spent on his behalf $141,000 during the 2022 race.

The Graford Republican is battle-tested — he defeated Jon Francis, a family member of the conservative mega-donor Wilks family in an expensive 2020 clash — and edged out Olcott last year.

But a significant table has turned in Abbott’s support for Olcott and that doesn’t favor the incumbent, though ultimately the jury is still out. 


• Satterwhite challenges Warren for County Commissioner position; Rogers set for rematch against Olcott, Breckinridge Texan, 14 December 2023


The endorsement represents a switch for Abbott, who endorsed Rogers in 2022,





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