Every life, born and unborn, is made in the image of God and deserves equal protection under the law. The first bill I filed, HB 2197, sought equal protection for the unborn from conception. As the father of children adopted through foster care, this issue is personal. I will keep working until Texas is the most protective state in the nation for every unborn child.

As founder of the Sharia-Free Texas Caucus, I am committed to keeping Sharia and its influence out of Texas. Sharia is incompatible with the Texas Constitution, the U.S. Constitution, and the Christian foundations of our state. I will fight any attempt to introduce Sharia-based practices, parallel legal systems, or related ideology into our schools, courts, or communities. Texas will remain free.

Texans should not have to rent their own property from the government. Property taxes keep rising while families and businesses struggle. In the House I fought for structural relief and will continue to advocate for appraisal reform, spending limits, and real reductions. Last session I filed a bill for complete elimination, but it did not receive a hearing. I will not stop until Texans keep more of what they earn.

Weak and corrupt elections produce weak and corrupt governments. Texas has passed some of the strongest election integrity laws in the country. The work is not finished. Every legal vote must be counted and every illegal vote must be rejected; we must be able to prove both. I will strengthen voter ID, expand ballot security, and close remaining loopholes so Texas elections remain the national model.

Parents, not the state, are the primary authority over their children’s upbringing. God entrusted children to their parents for their spiritual, physical, mental, and emotional formation. The state has no superior wisdom. Parents must retain full authority to direct their children’s education and values. I will fight any attempt by bureaucrats or activists to undermine that God-given responsibility.

The primary responsibility for educating children belongs to parents, not the government. That is why my focus is empowering and energizing parents. This focus begins with robust protection of the legal rights of parents who educate their children at home and support for education funding that follows the student to the school of their family’s choice. At the same time, the vast majority of Texas children will continue to be educated in our public schools. Therefore, we have a duty to make those schools the strongest and most effective they can possibly be.

We must return to the moral and intellectual heritage that once shaped America’s public schools and produced literate, virtuous, and free citizens. That means recovering a classical curriculum—reading, writing, mathematics, science, history, and civics—taught in light of the truths that built this nation, while rejecting radical ideologies that undermine parents, confuse children, or rewrite our history. Schools should be free to focus on education, not every ancillary social problem. When parents lead and teachers teach truth, Texas children thrive.

Local communities should have the authority to protect their own people, land, and infrastructure. Large industrial projects, including data centers, often impose heavy costs on local utilities, water supplies, roads, and taxpayers. Cities and counties need clearer authority to evaluate, condition, and, when necessary, reject projects that threaten their communities. I will also strengthen protections against the abuse of eminent domain so private property is not taken for the benefit of powerful interests. Local governments closest to the people must be equipped to act in the best interest of the families and landowners they serve.