A Democrat Chair has been caught red-handed in promoting Democrats to vote in the Republican party primary in order to influence Republican election outcomes.
Hood County Democrat Chairman Robert Vick sent an email to his opponent Norman Fott and asked him to withdraw from the race so Democrats could vote in the Republican primary in that county.
Vick himself has an opponent in the Democrat primary and he says he is willing to fall on the sword if he has to. The strong implication from his email, attached below, is that Democrats should cross-over into the Republican Party primary in order to vote against conservative candidates.
The email from the Hood County Democrat Chairman asked his opponent to withdraw in order to prevent conservatives from winning the Republican Primary.
“In a Presidential primary we expect 300 to 600 Democrats to vote republican,” said Vick. “With a contested race they will feel obligated to vote Democrat. That will deprive moderate candidates of hundreds of votes,” he wrote.
He also wrote that in a primary where the Governor is on the ballot, the county could expect 200 or more Democrats to vote in the Republican Primary.
A few local races in particular are on Vick’s radar. His email says, “Lang out is far more important than putting Robert in.” Vick calls Lang a “tea party king” in the email.
The Democratic chairman also wrote, “Keeping Mills, Cochran, and Lang out is far more important than putting Robert in!”
Mike Lang is running for the Texas House District 60 seat. That seat is currently held by State Representative Jim Keffer (R-Granbury). The incumbant, who is retiring from the House, has held the seat since 1997.
Lang has been a law enforcement officer for 30 years and has been serving as the constable for Hood County since 2013. Lang’s wife, Katie Lang, is the Hood County Clerk.
Katie Lang made news when she refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of gay marriage. Breitbart Texas reported about the controversy in Granbury, Texas when two LGBT books were placed in the children’s section of the local library.
Lang is endorsed by Concerned Women for America, Texas Values, Texas Home School Coalition, CLEAT, Texas State Senator Charles Perry, State Representative Drew Springer, National Association for Gun Rights PAC, Texas Right to Life, Texans for Fiscal Responsibility, and Young Conservatives of Texas.
Lang’s Republican primary opponent is Republican Kevin Downing. Both Downing and Lang live in Granbury,Texas. Downing’s campaign website does not list any endorsements.
The other two Republican candidates Vick was focused on were running in the county attorney and county commissioner (pct. 1) races. He noted that “In the last matchup, Deavers won by less than 100 votes over Cochran.”
According to the Texas Secretary of State website, all of the local races have Republicans running against each other and they have no democratic opposition. Republicans are running for county attorney, tax assessor-collector, and in county commissioner and justice of the peace races.
Of course cross-over voting into the Republican Primary by Democrats, could affect the outcome for the Republican Party presidential nominee, and state races for railroad commissioner, the Supreme Court of Texas and the Court of Criminal Appeals. Texas state Senator Brian Birdwell has a democrat opponent.
Lang says a recent push poll in the area asked voters, “Would you rather have someone that works with Democrats and Republicans or someone that is a ‘staunch’ Conservative that won’t get anything done?”
Lana Shadwick is a writer and legal analyst for Breitbart Texas. Follow her on Twitter@LanaShadwick2
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