Job Creation: Low Taxes and Commonsense Regulation
I am a small business owner and a family man–I clearly understand the impact of bad tax and regulatory policy on the Texas economy and each Texans’ ability to earn a good living for their family. I have consistently fought for lower taxes on the individual and on job producing industries most important to East Texas, such as energy and agriculture. I have also stood against bad tax policy and regulation which will unnecessarily burden the entrepreneur and small businesses, which are the backbone of our state’s job creation. I signed Texans for Fiscal Responsibility’s “Taxpayer Protection Pledge” and also spearheaded the Texas Conservative Coalition’s “Pledge with Texans,” which swore to our constituents and voters across the state that we would balance the Texas budget without raising taxes, limit federal intrusion, cut taxes, and secure our border. All of these measures helped create the pro-business and pro-family Texas which serves as our nation’s economic leader.

Relevant Awards/Ratings:
“2011 Taxpayer Champion” – Texans for Fiscal Responsibility
“2011 Fighter for Free Enterprise” – Texas Association of Business
“Man of the Year in Texas Agriculture” – Texas County Extension Service

Relevant Endorsements:
Texans for Fiscal Responsibility
Texas Association of Business
Texans for Lawsuit Reform

Relevant Videos:
Wayne Christian on Job Creation

Fighting for the Right to Life
I am a fierce advocate for life and the rights of the unborn. One of the reasons I became a legislator was because of my strong faith and my calling to serve, and this issue is of the utmost importance to me personally. I believe that we cannot have a society based upon the rule of law without the most basic, and complete, right to life. It was my privilege to personally author two key pieces of Pro-Life legislation that became law this last legislative session. The first bill redirected over $6 million from the state’s controversial family planning revenues (a funding stream for the abortion industry) into the state’s Autism Program, while the second bill prohibited hospital districts from using local taxpayer funds to contract services with abortion providers. As a result of this prohibition, Travis County’s Hospital District redirected $450,000 designated for elective abortions—which resulted in 720 abortions the previous year—to other health services. I am unabashed in my stance for life and will continue to work hard to make sure that we limit the heinous practice of abortion as much as we can in our state, and I pledge to continue to seek and take away any tax dollars going towards or supporting abortion in our state.

Relevant Awards/Ratings:
“2011 Defender of Life” – The Texas Right to Life
152% Pro-Life Rating from The Texas Right to Life

Relevant Endorsements:
Texas Right to Life PAC

Relevant Videos:
Wayne Christian on Abortion

Honoring the 2nd Amendment and Gun Rights
I understand and deeply respect America’s sportsman heritage and 2nd Amendment rights. I am a lifetime member of the National Rifle Association, and exercise my 2nd Amendment rights daily with my Concealed Handgun License (CHL). I am a strong advocate for Americans right to hunt and fish, as well as our fundmental right to protect ourselves, our home, our loved ones, and our neighbors from those who would do us harm. I have always and will continue to oppose any measure introduced in the Texas House which would restrict our Constitutional right to bear arms, and I will fully support legislation aimed at empowering law-abiding Texans to own, use, and enjoy firearms.

Relevant Awards/Ratings:
Historic “A” Rating with the National Rifle Association and Texas State Rifle Association

Relevant Endorsements:
Texas State Rifle Association PAC
National Rifle Association PAC

Relevant Video:
Wayne Christian on the 2nd Amendment

Protecting Private Property Rights
I will never forget the day that my wife and I purchased our first home together. Raising three daughters and celebrating birthdays and holidays in our own home was the fulfillment of our American Dream. It’s why I take property rights extremely serious, and will stand up for property owners every day in the Texas House without question. I have introduced legislation several times to end property taxes and find a more equitable solution to school finance. I do not believe that property owners should shoulder the tax burden for our schools alone and that by ending the property tax we can more fairly fund our children’s education, while making property more affordable so that more Americans experience the privilege of owning a home and raising a family under their own roof. I strongly stood against the Trans-Texas Corridor, because I felt that it was too large of a threat to private property owners, specifically ranchers and farmers in East Texas, and I will continue to support legislation that curbs eminent domain authority by the government and ensures that every Texan is secure in their property.

Standing Against Illegal Immigration
I strongly oppose illegal immigration and believe that our state has an obligation to its citizens to make up for the failure of their federal government. Texas has struggled for decades with the federal failure to take the integrity of our national borders seriously. Each year I’ve served in office, your state government has spent your Texas taxpayer dollars to try to stop the flow of illegal immigrants into our state from our southern border. Outside of the expense of trying to stop them, Texas is carrying the burden of their healthcare and education, and with the cost of both on the rise we cannot afford to continue down this path. I have coauthored legislation to make English the official language of our state, mandate the verification of an arrested person’s immigration status before they are released, require state agencies to study and report the effect of illegal immigration on their annual costs, issue driver’s licenses only to people who are lawfully allowed to work in this country, and repeal “in-state” tuition rates at our colleges and universities for illegal immigrants. I will continue to fight every day so that Texans are not paying for Washington’s failures.

Supporting Public Education
My wife, three daughters, and myself are all products of East Texas public schools. We all received a great education and were instilled with the values of our community–hard work, respect, kindness, and honesty. Not only do our public schools create the next generation of the Texas workforce, but they are typically the largest employer in rural areas of the state. This makes them critically important for not only future generations of Texans, but many hardworking Texans currently employed in a local independent school district. I have never been satisfied with our state’s funding formula, as I feel that poor and rural schools do not receive their fair share of the tax dollars which our state appropriates. This last session, several rural representatives and myself, forced an agreement from the Governor’s, Lt. Governor’s, and Speaker’s offices to have a study done that looks at the funding formula and its impact on poor and rural schools and make substantive recommendations for adoption to the Legislature next session. Rural representatives stood up together and fought simply to get our East Texas schools to the table so that we could be included in the discussion of a fair and equitable funding formula for the future. Also, I was one of the few conservative legislators who was active in the fight for our state’s history curriculum at the State Board of Education (SBOE) in recent years. I testified before the SBOE several times and was part of the fight to keep our Christian heritage, capitalism and free markets, and our Founding Fathers in our children’s textbooks. We won that battle, but the assault on our fundamental beliefs as Americans continues, and I pledge to keep fighting liberal interests who want nothing more than to rewrite our history.

Pro-Family, Pro-Faith, Pro-East Texas Values
Whether its the right to life, gun rights, supporting our rural schools, or any other issue in front of me, I will continue to honor the values of East Texas down in Austin. I am a fourth generation resident of Shelby County and was the first Republican elected to the Texas House from Deep East Texas since Reconstruction. I am who I am–East Texas born and bred. I cherish our conservative, rural values and I believe that our families, our faith, and our community are what make East Texas such a great place.

Relevant Awards/Ratings:
“2011 Conservative Legislator of the Year” – Texas Conservative Digest
“2008 National Legislator of the Year” – American Legislative Exchange Council
“Torch of Freedom Lifetime Achievement Award” – Young Conservatives of Texas
“Hero of the Faith” – Vision America
“Freedom and Family Award” – Texas Eagle Forum

Relevant Endorsements:
Texas Conservative Digest
Young Conservatives of Texas
Texas Home School Coalition