Though she may run for Senate instead.
Rep. Susan King
State Rep. Susan King has decided against seeking re-election as she considers a run for the Texas Senate, the Abilene Republican announced Tuesday.
King said she would announce by the end of the month whether to launch a bid for Senate District 24, where Troy Fraser is stepping down after nearly 20 years representing the region in Central Texas. In the meantime, King has formed an exploratory committee and stocked it with $1 million from her state House campaign account and a family loan.
“I will spend very little of these funds in the exploratory period, but feel it is important to be a serious candidate invested in winning should I decide to run,” King said in a news release.
See here for more on SD24. The Trib reported on the possible field of candidates in that race shortly after Fraser announced his exit. I don’t know much about Rep. King, which actually makes her kind of appealing to me as a potential replacement for Fraser, on the grounds that if she’s been that low profile, she’s unlikely to have been one of the wacko birds. And let’s face it, being better than Troy Fraser is a mighty low bar to clear. By the way, if you click that Trib link, you’ll see that it describes SD24 as “[covering] a large swath of Central Texas, stretching from northwest of San Antonio through the Hill Country up to Abilene”. Because of course San Antonio and Austin should share a Senate seat with Abilene.
Susan King has a 53% Fiscal responsibility rating. She’s been low-key because she’s been raising our taxes and growing government. She’s a Joe Straus supporter and we all know Straus stands in the way of smaller government and lower taxes. She refuses to debate opponents in issues. All this low profile stuff is by design to not be held accountable for her actions.
King would definitely make the Senate a little bit better. She’s has been one of the better GOP members in the Lege. She obviously votes just like every other Republican for a lot of crazy bills (just like Geren and every other supposed “moderate” Republican). But King has exhibited a number of moments where she comes across as more reasonable than almost any other member of her caucus. She hasn’t been “high profile” by some measures because her district includes Dyess Air Force Base and representation that focuses on veterans issues means more than focusing on partisan screeds. She also co-owns an ambulatory surgical center that led to her chairing the Select Committee on Healthcare Workforce and Training. Needless to say – more of a work horse, less of a show horse.
The perspective mentioned here by one of the announced SD24 candidates is obviously a big hint at how the handful of folks trying to run Austin will try to portray her. The hardcore wing of the Republican abortion crusade obviously doesn’t like her very much. But King will undoubtedly change her emphasis if she has to go outside of Abilene for GOP primary votes. I doubt she’ll have much of a problem combating MQS talking points. Nobody else ever does.