NE Dallas News

Financial manager Bryan Slaton, who narrowly lost to longtime Texas House Second District member Dan Flynn in the two most recent primaries, finally achieved victory, winning by more than 20 percentage points in the July 14 runoff election.

Slaton, a Royse City resident, is favored to win the solidly Republican district in the Nov. 3 general election against Democrat Bill Brannon of Sulphur Springs.

“It's about time voters got this one right,” Julie McCarty, CEO of the True Texas Project, told the NE Dallas News by email. “I so admire Slaton for hanging in there, working so hard and making it happen. Anything worth having requires effort, and Slaton proved it. He did not ever back down, tire, or compromise.”

Slaton received 61.1% of the vote to Flynn’s 38.9%, Ballotpedia reported.

“I can't tell you how humbling it is to be so overwhelmingly supported by my community,” Slaton wrote in a Facebook post. “I first ran for this seat six years ago. To those of you who supported me from day one, thank you. To those of you who have come on board in the last several months, I couldn't have done this without you. This is a victory for House District 2, and I promise I won't let you down.

“To grassroots conservatives across the state, I promise you I won't back down from the fight next session.” 

McCarty said Slaton’s genuinely conservative values aren’t expected to waver once he gets to Austin.

“Just like Slaton did not back down from his bid for state representative, I am confident he will not back down from his rock-solid conservative principles now that he's elected,” McCarty said. “His faith, his character, and his voters will keep him standing up for the things we believe in.

“This is important because we've watched as one by one our elected [representatives] let us down. They get to Austin and bow to pressure from the moderates, from leadership, from potential donors and lobbyists, from the left, from everyone except the voters who elected them. I really don't think that will be the case with Bryan. He's worked too hard and too long as one of the grassroots to change teams now.”

Responsibility to the party is paramount, McCarty said.

“Every representative, I don't care who they are, must be held accountable,” he said. “Bryan is a friend. But now that he's elected, that friendship takes a back seat. You cannot let feelings get in the way of good government.

“This means that even though I trust Bryan to take good votes, push good bills, and help kill bad bills, I will always be watching. I will be vocal when needed. And I expect all our grassroots allies to do the same. I'm pretty sure Bryan would expect that too. In fact, he should crave that.”