Less than two weeks have passed since the General Election. The results have still not been finalized on the national level. We continue to wait to see how the vote counts, recounts, and legal challenges proceed in other states. We are a month away from when the Electoral College meets and all 538 electors cast their votes, including the 38 from Texas.
In Texas, the results were decisive. While surprising to some, Texas continues its legacy as a pro-life state. This is despite tens of millions of dollars in out-of-state money that came into Texas to create a so-called “blue wave,” a wave that was supposed to wash away pro-life Republicans at the federal and state levels.
The “blue wave” crashed on the rocks and went nowhere.
Polls were looking grim just days out from the election. For example, just 10 days before the election, the Houston Chronicle did a lengthy story about a poll predicting that Biden had a narrow lead over Trump in Texas, 48-47. The poll was extensive. It sampled more than 3,000 likely voters and had a mathematical margin of error of only 1.7 points.
As we learned, the results were starkly different. The “blue wave” crashed on the rocks and went nowhere. Pro-life Republicans held the line.
Texas Alliance for Life’s role
Texas Alliance for Life had a part to play in the victories.
For the first time, our organization created a federal super PAC called Texas Alliance for Life Fed PAC to endorse and get pro-life voters out for President Trump, Senator Cornyn, and the 27 U.S. Representative candidates we endorsed. In a short time we raised more than $15,000 from nearly 100 individuals and went to work.
We also continued to make state and local endorsements and raise funds to promote those candidates through our state PAC, Texas Alliance for Life State PAC.
Both federal and state political action committees are 100% transparent; all expenditures and contributions are available to the public at the Federal Election Commission and Texas Ethics Commission websites. We do not use “dark money,” funds used to support or oppose candidates for public office without revealing who is funding those efforts.
We had a lot of fun distributing hundreds of these attractive Pro-Life, Pro-Trump yard signs across the state through volunteer captains who distributed them in various counties.
We mailed tens of thousands of our Pro-Life Voter Guides to key districts in Texas using sophisticated database and printing technology customized to the individual address level. The guides received praise for ease of use.
We also promoted the online version at ProLifeVoterGuide.org, popular on desktops and mobile devices.
Federal Races
Of those federal candidates we endorsed, their success was outstanding.
First, Texas went for Donald J. Trump by six points, proving the polls in Texas were wrong.
Second, Texas re-elected staunchly pro-life John Cornyn as our U.S. Senator by 10 points, more than a million-vote margin, also beating many polls.
Third, 23 of our 27 endorsed U.S. House candidates were victorious — 85%. That included staunchly pro-life Chip Roy (R-Austin), who defeated a well-funded challenge by Wendy David, the Planned Parenthood, Emily’s List, and NARAL-endorsed darling of the pro-abortion movement. She gained national recognition as a state senator in 2013 for her filibuster of the bill to ban abortions after 20 weeks and to increase abortion facility safety standards.
State Races
Fourth, all eight of the non-federal statewide races — the railroad commissioner, four Texas Supreme Court races, and three Court of Criminal Appeals races, went to candidates endorsed by our state PAC, all by decisive margins — 100%.
Fifth, the Texas House of Representatives retained its pro-life majority. In all likelihood, it will elect Rep. Dade Phelan, a pro-life Republican from Beaumont, to be the next Speaker when the Legislature convenes in January.
Of the 55 contested state House races in which our state PAC made endorsements, our endorsed candidates succeeded 42 times, or 76%.
In the Texas Senate, five of our seven endorsed candidates in contested races were successful, or 71%.
Here is a comprehensive list of all our endorsements.
There were setbacks. We lost a staunchly pro-life member of the Texas Senate. Several courts of appeals judges we endorsed were successful, but others were not. There were several heartbreaking losses in other races.
Nevertheless, Texas continues to be a pro-life state.
Prospects in the Next Legislative Session
The next legislative session begins in January. Governor Greg Abbott and Lt. Governor Dan Patrick, both staunchly pro-life, remain in office. The state Senate and House will have the leadership and enough votes to continue to advance the pro-life movement’s legislative agenda, including the Human Life Protection Act, a bill to ban all abortions beginning at fertilization. This law would goes into effect when and to the extent the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey.
Our Gratitude
We cannot thank the hundreds of individuals enough who have made financial contributions to our federal and state PACs and helped make Texas Alliance for Life’s successful efforts possible.
As you might imagine, our financial resources for our federal and state PACs are pretty much exhausted.
It won’t be long before we will have to engage again, including in a critically important special election for a state Senate race in December, and we will need hundreds of thousands of dollars to do that properly.
If you’d like to help us with a financial donation, please go to our website at TexasAllianceforLife.org/donate.
Any donation, from $5 to $25,000 or more is welcome and helpful.