How are the candidate recommendations made?

Before we make our candidate selections in the Republican primary, Stuart attempts to personally interview nearly all of the candidates in the contested Tarrant County races.  For statewide races, he interviews as many candidates as possible.  Candidates interviewed in previous Republican primary elections may or may not be re-interviewed.  He uses a consistent set of questions for all candidates to keep the process fair and balanced.  He also asks follow-up questions from their answers.  In addition, he asks for their response to any criticisms which have been made, giving them an opportunity to present both sides of an issue.  At times, he calls a candidate back for further information.

For primary and non-primary races, we ask Republican office holders and other activists for information they may have about a candidate’s background, record, and associations.  We also check a candidate’s voting history, which is public record, to see how committed he has been in the past to Republican primary voting.

As Christians, we pray for God’s wisdom and direction in making our selections.  Using the information we have gathered, we recommend who we believe is the best choice in each contested race.

We have at times had to recommend in races between two excellent candidates.  We’ve also had to deal with races in which all candidates had serious shortcomings.  As a rule we try to make a selection in every race we possibly can, because one of the candidates on the ballot will win that race.  Our endorsement is for that year’s race only, with its specific set of circumstances.

We do not recruit any candidates to run for office, nor do we endorse any candidate before the filing deadline.  We choose from the candidates on the ballot; we don’t put them there!