Fabrizio said Lambert’s retirement didn’t come as a surprise.
“In the last race against Liz Case, he won, but he only won 52 to 48% and because it was so close, it raised questions about his ability to continue to represent the district. Therefore, when you think about it, you also realize that he’s past retirement age,” Fabrizio explained.
According to Fabrizio, Lambert leaves behind an “interesting legacy” and raises questions about what kind of conservatism District 71 voters prefer.
“If I can talk about that personally, he represented the kind of Republican conservative who cared deeply about the local issues. He knew about the school system. He had ties to the business community. He worked with the local government, so he understood the local players. His focus was on local issues,” Fabrizio shared. “Liz Case, who ran against him, was coming from the perspective that, no, there are larger issues that we have to focus on… So she represented a different kind of conservative Republican. Stan Lambert, I think, won because of his ties to the local community. But is that what voters want? As he steps away, we’re going to see if that continues in this next race.”
Fabrizio also pointed to a broader question for Republicans in Texas politics: Since Republicans control state politics, should they “do everything in their power to achieve what they want to achieve, running over the opposition, or should they work with the opposition?”
He added that, increasingly, Republican leadership has shifted toward a top-down, hardline approach, citing Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s dominance of the Senate and moves in the House to limit Democratic influence.
“You notice in the special sessions that have taken place this summer, there’s been more and more of a crackdown on democratic behavior, and they’re assessing them fines for when they broke quorum and headed off to Chicago, that sort of stuff. They’re talking about raising those penalties, denying Democrats chairmanships of committees, subcommittees, that kind of stuff. So what we’re seeing is gradually this top-down approach, where if you’re an elected representative who’s a Republican, you must obey Republican leadership,” Fabrizio expressed.
As of August 31, the following candidates are in the race for District 71:
Fabrizio said three stand out at this stage: Regan, Case, and Hardaway.
“Liz Case, obviously, as the one who nearly won a couple of years ago… she would have the advantage, because she would probably be the best known,” Fabrizio said. “Blaze Reagan, city councilman. You would think he’s well-known. One of the things I always enjoy talking about with candidates is when they start going out and campaigning for a different office, how many people have heard of them? They go a lot of people don’t know who I am. So Blaze Reagan has to, and I believe he is capable of, working really hard to make sure that he’s known, and he can build on what he’s done as a city councilman. Jay Hardaway has been a quiet person. In politics, he’s well known behind the scenes. He was a city councilman, but it’s been years since he’s held that office, and he left his term early to work for Jody Arrington, so he will have to figure out a way to get into people’s conversations. So to me, right now, just in terms of flat-out name recognition, it’s Liz Case number one, Blaze Reagan number two, and Jay Hardaway number three.”
For less familiar names like Brown, Ohlemacher, and Luna, Fabrizio said the road ahead will be steep.
“This is still so early. They have to go and establish themselves. They have to go and make their own name recognition. So they have to use social media. They have to use whatever appearances they can get so that people start paying attention to them. That is really, really tough,” Fabrizio explained. “Other than Eddie Pugh, the other candidates start from basically zero name recognition, and Eddie Pugh is going to have to deal with the fact that he has a reputation out there. I would argue that you use the word activist, rabble rouser, might be another way to put it. Is that the kind of image that you want for your state representative? So it’s going to be tough for all of these candidates to get people to pay attention to.”
Because District 71 is solidly Republican, Fabrizio said the GOP primary will likely determine the winner. The Democratic nominee, if one emerges, will face a difficult challenge in reshaping the conversation in a district where, Fabrizio said, “the Democratic name is not a good name to be associated with.”
“That’s just not here. It’s all over most of West Texas. So you need time to try to change that conversation. It’s possible that it could be done. But if I were a Democrat running right now, I would lie low, try to win the Democratic nomination, let the Republicans fight among themselves, and then emerge with a totally different vision come next spring, after the primary,” Fabrizio shared.
As for campaign issues, Fabrizio said there’s no defining debate yet. He suggested candidates may choose between focusing on local issues, like construction, water, or power, or broader statewide cultural debates.
He also noted the crowded political calendar could make it hard for District 71 candidates to gain traction.
“There’s going to be a hot Senate race… So much attention is going to be focused on that, and I don’t know if that attention is going to be able to bleed down to District 71 that much. So how do the candidates generate excitement?” Fabrizio questioned. “How do you get them to care about things? Do you look at Liz Case, for example, and you say, ‘Okay, you were endorsed by Donald Trump a year ago, but then you weren’t endorsed by Donald Trump when he endorsed Stan Lambert.’ So what does that say? And how do Jay Hardaway or Blaze Reagan go and get Donald Trump’s endorsement? Does Donald Trump even care about District 71 right now, or is he concerned about other things? There’s a whole host of things that are at work here, and I’m not sure how you make that happen.”
Click here to see the full list of candidates vying for House District 71 State Representative.
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