Dawn Buckingham

As a strong pro-life champion in the Texas Senate and co-author of the strongest piece of pro-life legislation in the nation, the Texas Heartbeat Act which bans abortion when a heartbeat is detected at 6 weeks gestational age, I believe that abortion should never be allowed unless the life of the mother is in jeopardy. I believe it is the government’s responsibility to defend the defenseless. There is no one more defenseless than an unborn child. We must always protect life at all costs which is also why I worked to pass the trigger bill making abortion illegal in Texas if the Supreme Court overturns Roe v Wade.

Strongly Agree

Strongly agree.

Strongly Disagree

Strongly disagree.

As a State Senator, I am proud of the work we have done to lower property taxes over the last several sessions and provide much-needed checks and reforms on property tax growth. Additionally, I am proud to have supported the legislation that successfully amended our state constitution with voter approval to prohibit a state income tax from becoming a reality in Texas. However, property taxes are still too high and people are being priced out of their homes. This is unacceptable to me. I favor consumption taxes whenever possible and would like to see continued movement away from the property tax as a state. Property ownership is a foundational part of a free society and taxation as a threat to that is truly evil.

Having served on the Senate Finance Committee, which writes our state’s biennial budget, I have had firsthand experience in this process. Thankfully, the Texas Legislature must pass a balanced budget, unlike the federal government. However, as a matter of principle as a lifelong fiscal conservative, I believe that core functions of state government must be funded first, such as education, transportation, and public safety, and only after we have met those obligations to taxpayers should we consider any other spending.

Strongly Disagree

Strongly disagree.

Strongly Disagree

Strongly disagree.

Under no circumstances should government be able to close churches or places of worship and I am proud to have co-authored legislation in the Texas Senate banning this from ever happening in Texas.

C) Medicaid and Medicare should remain available, but no other taxpayer-funded programs are necessary.

Employers should never have that right. The right to contract, or plainly the right to work and earn a living from that work, is a pivotal principle in a free, capitalistic society. Employers should not have the power to mandate personal health decisions at the expense of an individual’s right to contract, perform their duties, and earn a living. Period. Schools also should never have that right. The purview of a local school district is the governance of the district and the diffusion of education in pursuit of our state’s constitutional mandate to provide a public education to its people. Vaccine mandates are way outside the scope of authority and power of a school and they should never have that right. Local and federal governments should never have this right either. Local governments cannot make such a decision under current state law, and the federal government is constrained by the Constitution, which does not grant such power over a personal medical choice. The state is the preeminent governing body in our federalist system. The debate should be had here at the state government. And while I believe, from a federalist perspective, that the debate should be had here, I do not support such a policy at all. I am personally against vaccine mandates and have signed the letter demanding a fourth special session to outlaw Biden’s vaccine mandate in Texas once and for all.

We will never fully eradicate the ideology that drives some Muslims to commit terrorism across the western world. However, we can and should utilize all tools available to aggressively pursue them. We must use financial tools to slow their flow of money, diplomatic tools to run them out of territory used for training and propagandizing, and military tools to eliminate them whenever possible. This is a civilization level fight and we must have the will to continue to fight.

Strongly Disagree

Strongly disagree.

Strongly Agree

Strongly agree. The Federal Government should finish building the southern border wall. If the Federal Government refuses to secure our southern border, then other border states should follow Texas' example and begin building their own border wall.

During my time in the Texas Senate, I supported legislation every session that allocated billions of dollars to further secure our border in lieu of the Federal Government’s absence. Illegal immigration should never be allowed and should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. When Texas passed their anti-sanctuary cities bill into law, as a State Senator I put the teeth into the bill that ensures that any elected official could be removed from office and held criminally liable should they ignore an immigration detainer hold on an illegal immigrant. Additionally, immigration policy should be viewed like every other government policy question: what is in the best interest of the people of the United States? For a long time in our country’s history, we viewed immigration policy in this manner. We adapted our immigration laws and rules to suit the needs of the American people at that time. Whether that meant higher skilled workers, or low skilled workers, or people with specialized educations or backgrounds, we always put the American people and our needs as a country first. As such, I do not have “one” answer. My answer is instead, what is the best use of immigration policy at a given time to best benefit THIS country and its people? That will change and we need to adapt our policy accordingly however allowing illegal immigration is never the answer and position on that is clear.

Strongly Agree

Strongly agree.

Strongly Disagree

Strongly disagree.

Strongly Disagree

Strongly disagree.

My value and belief system come from my Christian roots and biblical teachings. Every day, I tell my kids how good government matters, you can see examples around us everywhere. I run from an internal moral compass and believe in the Republican party of Texas priorities and platform. Additionally, I grew up in a ranching family where God, guns, liberty, hard work, and family ruled the day. Here are a few Biblical quotes to give you some examples. 1. To establish justice-Romans 13 ad 1 Peter 2:14-government is to punish evildoers and protect those who do right 2. Provide for the common defense-The protection of innocent human life is at the base of not only capital punishment (Genesis 9:6), but also in the provision of an army for protection from external threats, and a police force for protection from internal threats. 3. To insure domestic tranquility- Paul urged in 1 Timothy 2:1-2 to pray for government in order that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity 4. To promote the general welfare-Romans 13:4 says that civil rulers are servants "to you for good". The common good of all classes of citizens must be promoted by government passage of laws guaranteeing equal opportunity. It is not proper for the government to provide money and aid to special interest groups. It is to promote, not provide, and to do so for all people in general, not for special people. 5. To secure the blessings of liberty-These blessings include life, liberty and property...a biblical view of government sees that it cannot provide these, only secure them. In summary: It is the government's role to protect individuals from the evil intentions of others, to provide opportunity. I believe government should provide a base from which to launch (opportunity), it is not meant to provide everything for every citizen from cradle to grave (entitlement). I believe entitlement and the victim mentality are some of our greatest threats. I believe that Texas leads the United States, and I believe the US is more than a nation. It is an idea and the only existing constitutional republic in existence. If the left wants to live in Socialism/communism they can move. America’s idea is a commitment to the universal dignity of persons everywhere. I believe the threat to America is real. The American idea/dream only stays alive unless we let it devolve into something else. I am committed to fighting as hard as possible to protect our state and country.

Strongly Disagree

Strongly disagree.

As a longtime fighter for election integrity and co-author of the election integrity bill, I think the single most important factor in securing and authenticating our elections is to utilize voting machines with multiple systems of record. If you have a system of paper ballots, all one needs to do is add more ballots to the total to commit fraud. If you have a system of totally electronic ballots, all one needs to do is compromise the machine to commit fraud. Only a voting system that utilizes multiple systems of record, such as an electronic record AND a paper record that can be verified against one another to ensure accuracy, prevents voter fraud. As such, I support any and all efforts to provide these machines to all counties as soon as practicable. Even if there is a monetary cost to the state to assist these counties, the cost of a stolen election is far greater. I have always supported election integrity and that is why I co-authored our state’s landmark election integrity bill this past special legislative session and successfully amended it to define and assign consequences for voter harvesting.

No I do not. Racism is never acceptable and should never be tolerated, period. We are all made in God’s image and should live as such. I believe that the media inflates the narrative that we have widespread racism across this nation which causes hate and division to spread. When I travel across Texas, I see people from all races and walks of life coming together on a daily basis to make Texas the best state to live, work, and raise a family.

Strongly Disagree

Strongly disagree.

I believe that we can enact and follow common-sense environmental laws and regulations that allow our invaluable oil & gas industry to thrive and increase our energy independence from foreign nations while also safeguarding our environment and providing good paying jobs to countless Texans just as Texas has done for generations. The Green New Deal would destroy our state’s economy, energy industry, and millions of jobs and livelihoods across our state and nation and we must fight against this proposed measure with every ounce of fight that we have.

Strongly Agree

Strongly agree.

It is the government's role to protect individuals from the evil intentions of others, to provide opportunity. I believe government should provide a base from which to launch (opportunity), it is not meant to provide everything for every citizen from cradle to grave (entitlement). I believe entitlement and the victim mentality are some of our greatest threats.

Very Conservative

Very conservative.

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No.

I am a seventh generation Texan who has lived on both our beautiful coast and in Central Texas throughout my life. I grew up on a ranch and the value of the outdoors and hard work were instilled in me as a young girl. My family teases me about being born fiscally conservative. I worked my way through college, graduating Magna Cum Laude and debt free, by living at home and working two full-time jobs. I then attended medical school and after completion moved back to Central Texas to begin my career. Those early years of my professional life were extraordinarily difficult, but through hard work and reliance on family and God, we persevered. I have always believed that everything is possible if you are willing to work hard and humble yourself. I am the proven effective conservative fighter in this race. We have all been disappointed with candidates that say one thing when running, then do something else when elected. I am the only candidate for this office that has a proven record. You do not have to guess where I am on the biggest fights for conservatives. You can check my thousands of votes in the Texas Senate, the bills I've filed, and the stands I've taken. While others may talk the talk, I have walked the walk. There will be no surprises with me. Additionally, I am a residential, commercial, and agricultural landowner. I grew up on a ranch, I come from a ranching family. There’s a century ranch in my family, I currently am the president of my corporate ranching entity and believe we must fight against eminent domain. I’ve prioritized rural Texas in my time in the Senate which is why we passed one of the largest broadband access bills this past session. My Senate district is rural, and I care deeply about preserving rural Texas. That is where our Texas values come from, and that is the root of who we are. In the Senate, I have served three terms on the Sunset Advisory Commission doing a deep dive into over 80 agencies. I have seen where they get off track and how to get them back on track to better serve Texans. Additionally, I served on the Senate Finance Committee, where we wrote the budget for each agency. I know how our state government works and how to enact positive change. I have also served on the Higher Education Committee and the Veteran Affairs and Border Security Committee. These committees have relevance to the General Land Office. Before I was in the Senate, I served on the Lake Travis ISD School board and I also served as the Vice-Chair of the State Board of Educator Certification. This compilation of experience makes me uniquely qualified amongst my opponents to serve as the Commissioner of the General Land Office.

Strongly Agree

Strongly agree.

Strongly Disagree

Strongly disagree.

No additional restrictions are currently needed in Texas. This past legislative session, I was proud to have been a coauthor on the Constitutional Carry bill which allows every Texan of legal age to exercise their constitutional right to carry a firearm without a permit if they have not been convicted of a felony.

Strongly Disagree

Strongly disagree.