Many of North Texas’s most prominent political figures turned out for Republican nominee Shelley Luther’s dueling pianos fundraiser.
Republican Rep. Mitch Little of House District 65 attended the October 24 Dennison event, as did GOP House candidates Keresa Richardson for District 61 and Helen Kerwin for District 58.
The event was “perfect,” Little said to The Dallas Express, asking what else you could expect from “the unstoppable Shelley Luther.”
He then pointed to the nearly 300 attendees, saying, “[this] extremely full event shows how much enthusiasm there is on the red side.”
When asked about the state of the race, Little said a “new red electorate” was being built in this election.
Little explained that this electorate is comprised of “new, young voters disenchanted with the state of the federal government, first-time naturalized citizens, and a whole lot of people who are pissed.”
Speaking separately to DX from Little, Richardson and Kerwin concurred in their enthusiasm.
Kerwin expected that Republicans would “smoke ’em [Democrats]” at the ballot box and noted a “passion for the conservative agenda [amongst voters].”
Richardson emphasized the need for “reformation in the Texas House and unity in the party.”
DX asked if this included supporting Democrats serving as committee chairs in the Texas House or reelecting House Speaker Dade Phelan. Richardson was almost overcome with laughter. Noting that Democrat committee chairmanships are connected to who is elected as speaker, she said: “That [her supporting Phelan] will not happen.”
Both women highlighted the long lines at polling stations in their areas as signs of high voter turnout, and both shared Richardson’s sentiment that “we are a couple of grandmas here, we don’t need a new career… we are here because we are called to for our grandkids.”
Regarding the huge turnout at an event in a county with a smaller population such as Grayson, Luther told DX it was “awesome,” and she was “flattered and humbled.”
Luther described it as “the last big event for me [and to] get everyone voting red down ballot.”
If elected, she said her priorities were the “GOP priorities,” and she would tackle other big topics like a “cement kiln issue” in the district.
Grayson County GOP Vice Chairwoman Sara Buskirk said, “Shelley is going to win, no doubt.”
For three hours straight, Luther’s husband, Tim Georgeff, and his friend played dueling pianos draped in American flags and sang songs selected by the audience.
Georgeff and his fellow pianist took several opportunities to pay cheeky homages to Luther in songs.
One such example came when Georgeff sang the part of David Allen Coe’s You Never Even Call Me By Name about his mother being in prison. One of the men joked, “Shelley would know something about that!”
This referenced the event that brought Luther to national prominence when she was jailed in 2020 for defying COVID mandates and reopening her Dallas salon.
When Georgeff played Piano Man by Billy Joel, he changed some lyrics to nod toward Luther seeking office, and the audience laughed and cheered. At one point, Kaaren Treuber, a Vietnam veteran in her 80s, was pulled up from the audience to hold Georgeff’s harmonica so he could play both the harmonica and piano simultaneously.
After the show, Georgeff told DX that he was confident in his wife’s electoral prospects. “40 thousand Republicans voted in the primary; I think there were 2,000 Democrats,” he said, nodding toward the district’s favorable demographics and emphasizing that they would continue “working hard [for other candidates] down the ballot.”
DX has covered numerous events where Luther was in attendance, and they almost always involve a surprise.
On one occasion at the Trump Tractor Parade in Tom Bean, Luther surprised attendees by showing off a swaddled baby kangaroo she had brought.
On this evening, the surprise came in the form of several dozen constituents spontaneously forming a conga line and dancing around the room when the pianists played a song with a Latin rhythm just before the event drew to a close.
The general election will be held on November 5, 2024, and Luther will face off against Democrat challenger Tiffany Drake.
Early voting began on October 21 and continues until November 1.
