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District 30 Election Far From Over, Candidates Claim

District 30 Election Far From Over Candidates Claim
Voters at a booth | Image by Shutterstock

On Tuesday, several candidates running for Texas Congressional District 30 gathered to denounce what they believe to be the “coronation” of the Democrat nominee, urging voters to remember there is still a general election approaching this November.

The candidates, coming from several political parties, accused local media of treating the election as if it was already over after Jasmine Crockett won the Democratic Primary for the congressional seat earlier this year.

On the ballot for that general election, however, are four other candidates: Republican nominee James Rodgers, Libertarian nominee Phil Gray, and independent Zachariah Manning. Additionally, self-described centrist Debbie Walker is leading a write-in campaign.

When asked what she thinks about the race being treated as if these four candidates are not in it, Walker told The Dallas Express, “I think that’s a slap directly in the voter’s faces. What they’re doing is they’re telling us who they want you to vote for by the endorsement.”

“They’re not encouraging people to do their homework, to make educated decisions, and to do in-depth research on the other people who are running for the same office,” she said. “I believe that is going against the political process, and I’m just asking everybody to do your homework.”

Walker is a registered nurse and volunteer community chaplain who “chose to step into this race for Texas District 30 as a write-in candidate,” she explained.

“I sometimes may lean to the right on issues; sometimes I lean to the left. I’m considered a centrist,” she said, “because, as a registered nurse and as a chaplain, I care about all people.”

Zachariah Manning said he has been a lifelong Democrat, but chose to run in this race as an Independent.

“It was smarter for me to do that versus getting in the primary with nine other Democrats,” he told The Dallas Express. “I was the first who announced that I was going to be in that primary, and I was, of course, the only one to get out.”

“Because [Crockett] spent $2 million of PAC money on advertising, and you heard little to nothing about the other candidates,” he continued. “So, [running as an independent] was a smarter deal for me to do since people already know me as a Democrat.”

Manning believes Crockett is “overconfident” and said he thinks he has “a fantastic shot at winning.”

His pitch to voters is that he is running only to “serve the communities of District 30.”

“I will earn your votes and not lie to you when I’m elected as your next U.S. Congressman,” Manning said.

When The Dallas Express asked James Rodgers, who described himself as a “classic conservative,” what he thinks about the race being treated as if it was already over, he said, “I think it’s the height of hypocrisy from the Democratic Party, but specifically from someone like Jasmine [Crockett] who has painted herself as a champion of democracy and voting access.”

“Well, voting access is moot if you are nullifying and silencing counter-voices. That’s not really a democratic process,” he said. “You are moving to an autocratic process. So, it would seem like either she’s a hypocrite, or what she really values is power and partisan power to be more specific.”

Rodgers also said he was disappointed “that she would hide from a debate … especially since she’s the seasoned vet,” presently serving as a member of the Texas House of Representatives from the 100th district, “she’s the entrenched politician.”

“The media may be trying to hide us. They may be trying to silence us,” he said, adding, “I am here to earn your vote. We’re not going to hide from democracy, we’re going to engage it.”

Phil Gray, the libertarian, told The Dallas Express he is “troubled” that the media has only focused on Crockett, noting that “the voters haven’t spoken.”

“I am also very concerned that we are not being properly represented. There are four people in this group that are not being represented by the media, although 70,000 have voted in the primaries out of 270,000 that voted in 2020 in this race. There are 200,000 votes left up for grabs,” he said.

The Libertarian candidate said if he wins, he has three goals: paying down the national debt, creating more jobs, and ending inflation.

Election day is November 8, and early voting begins at certain locations on October 24. However, concerns have been raised by some Dallas County commissioners about whether or not the county is ready for the upcoming election due to a lack of staff, as reported by The Dallas Express.

Updated at 4:21 p.m. on October 7 for clarification. 

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